Roses are synonymous with Valentine’s Day and have long been the symbol of love. The Society of American Florists estimates that 250 million roses are produced just for February 14.
83% of all flowers purchased for Valentine’s Day are roses, according to SAF, with red roses being the highest percentage color of roses bought at 65%.
Based on these numbers, it seems most people agree roses are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. But how did that all start?
Ancient Times
The association of roses and love seemingly began in Greek and Roman times, however, these cultures used roses to signify more than just love.
According to Iowa State University, rose petals were used as modern-day confetti during parties and important events in Rome. Romans also hung up roses during private, important meetings as a symbol that the information must not leave the room in which it was spoken.
They also paired roses with love by wearing rose garlands at weddings, according to TIME.
The Greek poet Sappho wrote of the importance of the rose in their culture in his poem “Song of the Rose”:
“For Zeus chose us a King of the flowers in his mirth,
He would call to the rose, and would royally crown it;
For the rose, ho, the rose! is the grace of the earth,
Is the light of the plants that are growing upon it! . . .”
They didn’t reserve roses for big events, however. Romans also used them in their everyday lives too, placing their petals on their floors and in their baths.
However, according to Iowa State University, China was the first country to cultivate roses beginning in 551-479 BC.
TIME also suggests that the red color of roses resembles blushing, an action associated with sexuality, which could have aided roses being associated with romance.
France & Victorian England Influence
Victorian England, specifically courtesy of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, also helped to solidify roses’ popularity and their connotation of love.
Lady Montagu was the wife of the British ambassador to Turkey and misunderstood the Turkish tradition of assigning meanings to objects, according to TIME. The true tradition involved rhyming words and didn’t focus as much on the objects themselves.
Lady Montagu’s take on assigning meaning to flowers, even though it was an incorrect interpretation, became popular. Charlotte de Latour from France published her book “Language des fleurs” based on these principles. Latour’s book heavily romanticized the rose.
More books and poems were penned after Latour’s publication that continued to speak on the association of roses and love. The sale of roses increased by a large margin in Victorian England and France once these publications became popular.
Modern Culture
Roses popularity has not faded nor has their symbolism of love and romance. The flower is still used heavily in modern movies, shows, songs, books, etc.
Consider Beauty and the Beast, whose movie adaptation is centered around a cursed rose. A prince is forced to live in beast form with the spell only being broken by love. The prince is given the cursed rose that will bloom until he turns 21 and he has until that age to learn to love.
More recently in pop culture, the hit shows The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and The Golden Bachelor all use a rose to convey affection. In these reality dating shows, the bachelorette or bachelor announces which of their suitors will stay and compete for their “love” by giving them a rose.
In music, many songs have been written with roses as the main focus. Some examples include “Roses” by The Band CAMINO, “English Rose” by Ed Sheeran, and “Roses by The Chainsmokers, but the list of rose-related songs is seemingly endless.
Roses and what they symbolize have stood the test of time in world culture. Every Valentine’s Day when people flock to a florist to purchase a dozen red roses, the tradition continues.