By Suzanne Gannon

In 1951, Cindy Lau left China for Oahu with her new husband—a native Hawaiian she had met through a matchmaker in her village. Eventually, she went to work making corsages in the back of a barbershop in Honolulu’s Chinatown. Fifty years later, at age 76, she presides over Cindy’s Lei & Flower Shoppe on Maunakea Street (808-536-6538), www.cindysleishoppe.com.

Q What do leis signify?
A Lei-making started long before Europeans arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. It has always been a way to say hello or good-bye to a visitor. I love the joyousness of leis. Making them and selling them requires a love of flowers and a love of people.

Q Know of any superstitions or taboos?
A The hala lei is a symbol of kicking out the old and welcoming in the new, so you’d give it to a politician leaving office, but you wouldn’t give it to someone for his birthday. They say a pregnant woman should wear her lei untied so it won’t get tangled up in the umbilical cord.

Q Which are your favorite blossoms?
A The large-petaled, butter-colored plumeria, the tiny chartreuse pakalana, the small white pikake that look like delicate seashells, and the maile, a leafy vine often strung with white flowers. Tourists go for the plumeria and orchids.

Q And when you’re not making leis?
A I love to shop, especially for groceries in Chinatown, where things are cheaper. And in Waikiki, I like to act like a tourist. I swim in the ocean, and I walk around the big hotels to look at the beautiful floral displays.

Q Is your Chinese heritage in your leis?
A I’m very partial to red, which is good luck. One of our signatures is the money lei. It has ribbons, ti leaves, and dollar bills woven into it.