Red roses have a significant appearance in all festivities, whether it is gifting someone a bouquet, or during birthday celebrations and wedding events. Everyone adores red roses because of their lovely, bright appearance and the fragrant scent it possesses. But, they are a prominent flower in day to day life because red roses are considered to be a symbol of love. Roses are also a popular choice among local flower growers.
When one spots red roses, they automatically connect them to love, happiness and romance. So, it is a no brainer that these bulk flowers are a significant sighting at a wedding, right? While there are around 400,000 different species of flowers available around the world, a simple red rose steals the spotlight because of what it represents. People love finding some personal connection with their flowers, so knowing what the flower represents is a great way of picking out flowers and eliminating the others.
But have you ever wondered how the red rose was termed to be a symbol of love? Well, we are here to put a stop to all your questions.
From Greeks To Romans
Red roses are associated with a lot of ancient mythological stories. There is no surprise about this though since the red rose is a very ancient flower. Fossil evidence places the red rose as back as 35 million years old!
When it comes to Greek mythology, it is believed that Chloris, the goddess of flowers took pity on a lifeless nymph and transformed her into a beautiful rose that would be judged as the queen of all flowers. But the rose gets its name from the Goddess of love, Aphrodite. Interestingly, the rose is an anagram of ‘Eros’, the God of love, who was the son of Aphrodite!
Another Greek mythology revolves around Aphrodite and the rose. Aphrodite, on finding out about a murder plot against Adonis, her lover, rushes to save him. But, she gets caught up in a rose bush and a thorn pricks her ankle. The white rose petals turned red because of her blood!
During the Roman period, the rose was a medicinal flower! It was also used as a perfume due to its scent. Newly married couples would wear rose crowns and their beds were covered in rose petals. This linked red roses to love and desire.
The English Connection
The rose is the national flower of England, and a war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster was also known as the War of roses! The famous term ‘English rose’ was also used to describe a brunette with fair skin, flushed cheeks and pink lips by a lot of English authors. Roses are very significant in literature, which deepened their connection to love and desire. In fact, Shakespeare mentions the word ‘rose’ more than 70 times in his sonnets and plays.
Red roses were always infamous during the Victorian period when lovers communicated using flowers. A red rose simply spoke of love, romance and passion at a time when such relationships were not deemed fit. Other hues of rose also had different meanings, but all revolved around the same emotions. Pink roses stand for admiration and affection. White roses were common at weddings and funerals as they depicted purity. People still use white roses at funerals today!
Similarly, yellow roses sang words of friendship. However, black roses were avoided at all costs because they represent death.
The Big Picture
Movies often make up for a lot of the things we do and think about because we get inspired by them. Deep red roses were a trademark for love and desire in movies. Not just Hollywood, even Disney movies, like Beauty and the Beast emphasizes the red rose. The prince turned into a beast by an evil witch has to find true love before the last petal of the magical red rose falls, or he will have to take the form of the beast forever. So, it automatically makes a link of red roses to love in our minds, from a young age!
Who doesn’t adore red roses? From valentine’s day bouquets to magnificent wedding décor, red roses are definitely the way to go! If you are looking for flower dealers in Bangalore to procure some red roses, Flower Bazaaar helps you obtain fresh flowers from local vendors!