The rose dates back to 35 million years ago based on fossil evidence. Its red shade has come to be associated mostly with romantic love, but other colors convey different special meanings as well.
Besides that, there are tons more to know about this classic, beloved flower. Let’s now dig through its history and symbolism which will let you know how even more truly special this flower is!
The History of the Timeless Rose
The rose was one of the first flowers that bloomed on this beautiful planet. It first grew in Asia before growing abundantly throughout the United States, Europe, and Russia.
During 500 B.C., the ancient Chinese were so fascinated by its looks and fragrance that they began to cultivate huge swathes of land to grow them and devoted their water supply solely to them. This caused a big problem of providing food for the people.
A few hundred years later, in around 41 B.C. roses were grown in the Middle East. Egypt’s queen Cleopatra was said to have used it bountifully in her palace and chambers to make Mark Antony fall in love with him.
This charming flower also expressed the genuine love between Romeo and Juliet. They are the main characters of Romeo and Juliet, a play that was written by the greatest playwright of all time, William Shakespeare, in about 1595.
Juliet famously said to Romeo: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That means that even though the families of both parties greatly disagree with each other, Romeo and Juliet still truly love each other.
It’s also not surprising that, in 1986, former President Ronald Reagan declared the rose to be the national flower of America in the magnificent White House Rose Garden.
And today, many of us send a passionate rose bouquet or gift to our beloved on Valentine’s Day and the tradition continues.
The Symbolism of the Rose
We mentioned earlier that roses came in many different colors, and the meaning was different for each one.
White roses signify innocence and purity, red roses suggest passionate love, yellow roses mean friendship and admiration, orange expresses enthusiasm and passion, and pink conveys thanks, fondness, and happiness.
Green and blue roses are rarer, but since a lot of people request them, roses are artificially dyed to achieve these colors. There are even out-of-this-world, mesmerizing rainbow-colored ones, which you may have seen being sold by florists.
Anyway, green roses are taken to mean cheerfulness and new beginnings; blue roses, because of their unique color, symbolize mystery and the ability to achieve the impossible; whereas rainbow ones simply mean bliss.
Other than the color, the particular number of roses you give modifies the meaning. For instance, giving a person a single rose says “You are the one”, three means “I love you”, and ten roses mean, “You are perfect.”
