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Flowers of Valentine Day! |
Red Rouse
The traditional Valentines Day gift, red
rose. Red also signifies strong feelings.
The rose, undoubtedly the most popular
flower in the world, speaks of love and has
been the traditional choice of sweethearts
during every century. Precisely how it came
to be the universal symbol of love and
beauty is unclear. However, the rose was a
sacred flower of the Roman God- Bacchus (God
of Wine and Joy) and Venus (Goddess of Love
and Beauty) both considered the beauty and
fragrance of flowers to be tied with romance
and love. , and the color red is associated
with strong emotions since the time of
Solomon, the primary flower linked to
romance was always the rose. Cleopatra of
Egypt covered the floor with roses before
receiving Mark Anthony. A Roman myth is that
Cupid was carrying a vase of sweet nectar to
the gods on Mt. Olympus and spilled it on
the ground. From that spot of spilled
nectar, roses grew!
But if roses are so symbolic of romance and
love, then why in have the thorns? Well,
another story goes like this:
The soft west wind named Zephyr one day
opened a lovely rose and Cupid bent over to
kiss the elegant petals. When he did, an
irate bee hiding inside stung him. Venus got
so angry she told Cupid to shoot some bees
and string them up on one of his arrows. She
then planted this string of dead bees on the
rose stems, and the stings became the rose's
thorns and ever since roses had thorns. The
ancient Romans also believed that anything
discussed under a rose was considered sub
rosa and to be kept secret. Today the Latin
term is still used today to express
something that is to be kept confidential.
Another Roman theory is that the Rose
reminded the Roman Catholic Church of
watching Christians devoured by lions. Later
on, the Virgin Mary was called "The Rose of
Heaven." The rose is symbolic of both peace
and war...both love and forgiveness.
Interestingly, the letters of "rose" when
rearranged, form the word "Eros"...God of
Love. In terms of the sentiments expressed
by the different colors of the rose, the
commonly accepted meanings are:
Coral - Desire
Lavender -- Enchantment and Uniqueness
Orange -- Fascination
Peach -- Modesty, Gratitude, Admiration and
Sympathy
Pink (Pale) -- Grace, Joy and Happiness
Pink (Dark) -- Thankfulness, Friendship and
Admiration
Red -- Love, Respect and Courage
Deep Red -- Beauty and Passion
White -- Innocence, Purity, Secrecy,
Silence, Reverence, Humility and (according
to some sources)
True Love
Yellow -- Joy, Friendship, Jealousy, Hope
and Freedom
Black -- Farewell
Red/White -- Unity or Engagement
Yellow/Orange -- Passionate Thoughts
Yellow/Red -- Congratulations
Rosebud -- Beauty, Youth and a Heart
Innocent of Love
Red Rosebud -- Purity and Loveliness
White Rosebud -- Girlhood
Single Red Rose in Full Bloom -- "I Love
You"
One Dozen Red Roses -- "I Love You"
Tea Roses -- "I'll Remember Always"
More Meaning of Flowers
Daisies, Violets and Bachelor Buttons -
Kyanus
Except the rose Valentine Day has are a few
other flowers considered to be romantic
also. .
The Romans believed that the Daisy was once
a wood nymph. One day, while dancing in a
field she was seen by Vertumnus, the God of
Spring who get fell in love with her. But
when he reached for her she got frightened.
So, out of pity the other gods let her sink
into the earth and she became a Daisy. .
I do not know how the superstition of
holding a Daisy and plucking off it's petals
saying "He loves me" or "He loves me not"
got started. .
About Violets: one day it is said that Venus
got jealous of a group of beautiful maidens.
And when Cupid refused to say that his
mother's beauty was better than theirs,
Venus go furious, so she beat her rivals
until they were blue and she watched them
shrink into violets. .
In the Science of Botany, the cornflower is
known as Kyanus, named after a Greek youth
who was born in a field one day, making
garlands of the blue blossoms for the altar
of Flora, Goddess of Flowers. He died,
unfortunately, leaving some of the garlands
undone and so this touched Flora's heart and
so in his honor she named the flowers after
him.
Say your feelings With Flowers...
You can read page Meaning of Flowers, but in
fast explanation here you can find are some
traditional meanings for other flowers often
sent for Valentine's Day or other touching
moments:
Gardenia -I love you secretly.
Gladiolus -You are pierce my heart.
Lily-of-the-Valley -Let us make up.
Sweet William - You are gallant, suave and
perfect.
Violet- I return your love.
Green leaves - represented hope in a love
affair.
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