Chrysanthemums have been cultivated in China as far back as 15th century BC, and is frequently used in Chinese and East Asian art and festivals. Through the years, the chrysanthemum culture has flourished, giving shape to more varieties, colours and shapes such as the poms, mums and buttons. Especially so in the local context where chrysanthemums have a firm reputation as flowers for religious purposes, the new colours and varieties have seen new demands for it at events, weddings and for bouquets. The chrysanthemum is also the unofficial national flower of Japan, symbolic of the Imperial Family.