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Why are Roses Given on Valentine’s Day?

When it’s Valentine’s Week, you can find shops are stocked with red roses. But ever wondered what makes roses so popular and which is the best rose for Valentine day? Today we’ll tell you the real reason why roses are preferred on Valentine’s Day.

You must be aware that roses make a big deal in starting and even ending a relationship. You can find mention of roses as symbolism everywhere in literature and poetry. You can even find people getting inked with rose tattoos.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that roses for Valentine’s Day outnumber every other flower with such popularity. You might be amazed to know that 250 million roses are produced every year, especially for this special day of love.

But did this question ever come to your mind that why roses became the top Valentine’s Day gift? Here’s why.

Goddesses and Saints

Everything started when Aphrodite met St. Valentine. Well, not really, Okay! But, these two important figures have much to do with Valentine’s Day and the flower most associated with this day of love.

Greek mythology says Aphrodite is the Goddess of love, desire, and beauty. She fell in love with Adonis, who loved to hunt, and warned him not to pursue animals in his hunts that seemed unafraid. But he didn’t listen.

When Ares, Aprodite’s ex and the god of war, turned himself into a wild boar, Adonis took the bait and got killed. A distraught Aphrodite ran towards him, cutting her foot in the process. As she ran, her blood turned a nearby white rose into a red one, transforming the flower into a symbol of love.

Then there is another story to it, in third-century Rome, there was a priest named Valentine. He landed in prison to perform wedding ceremonies. Emperor Claudius the II banned all marriages because he thought all men who would marry and have families and wives would avoid going to war.

When Valentine defied his order, Claudius ordered to kill him. While awaiting execution, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of a jailor and signed a letter to her saying, “From your Valentine.”

The Language of Flowers

Another story deals with a Swedish king and a British aristocrat who were also instrumental in the rise of the rose as the ultimate romantic gift.

In the 1700s, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of Britain’s ambassador to Turkey, got fascinated with a local practice. It was to use flowers and plants to send secret love messages. She later shared her discovery and sent it back to her home in England, where it became a huge hit.

On his visit to Persia in the 1800s, Charles II, the king of Sweden and Norway, stumbled upon flowers to express emotions. His report that roses translated to true love spread like wildfire all across Europe, and roses became immensely popular.

Floriography became a Victorian era’s obsession after both of these discoveries. People started memorizing flower dictionaries to send bouquets full of secret meanings.

The Color of Love

Roses are red, and yes, you know the rest. But are you aware of what all other colors of roses mean according to the language of flowers?

As Charles II learned, red roses are meant for the ones we love or desire. This is enough to explain the fact why 69% of all roses bought on Valentine’s Day are red. And this gives you another reason that you must reconsider and rethink much before you give red roses to your sister, grandma, or just a friend.

If you find someone awesome and you want to appreciate their presence and are happy to have them in your life, then gift them pink roses. They are perfect for being gifted to friends you love, your co-workers, teachers, or that cafe coffee day worker who knows your exact order without having to ask.

Likewise, If you wish to honor someone or celebrate their innocence, send them some lovely white roses. This is the major reason why a bouquet of white roses is given at weddings and used in funeral wreaths.

If you wish to showcase your happiness, send across some bright and beautiful yellow roses to symbolize friendship. On the other hand, give peach roses as a formal thank you to someone who always had your back.

And of course, if you know that someone you love has a color preference – then that’s always the one to run with.

It’s Just Not All About the Romance

There are many non-romantic reasons as well for roses becoming the queen of the Valentine’s flower market. This is majorly because of their ability to stay beautiful while traveling great distances.

Roses are much more resistant to weather conditions than lilies or tulips. This is because they are summer-blooming flowers, and Valentine’s Day falls in the winter holidays. Maximum roses that you see on Valentine’s Day in stores have made their way thousands of miles from South America or Africa in just a few days to get there.

Limitless Gifting Potential

And yes, that’s not all of it; there’s a lot more to roses. Roses have a secret language, and there’s yet another way to use them in place of words. Give one Valentine day gift rose, and it will tell your Valentine that you fell in love at first sight. Giving three roses is significant for saying I love you, and ten roses mean you think they’re perfect.

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