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The significance of the rose

By: Kurt Tabler

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Flowers make for a sublime gift for anyone, whether it is a relative, friend or a loved one. Roses however are quite literally a cut above, symbolising beauty and perfection as well as romantic love. You may be surprised however just how significant roses have been culturally across different civilizations and over many generations.

The Greeks held that the rose was created by their goddess of flowers, Chloris. Indeed the word ?rose? itself originates from the Greek ?rhodon?. Chloris used her power to transform the body of a dead nymph into the rose. With the help of the other gods she was then able to give it beauty, its lovely aroma, as well as make it bloom.

Cleopatra similarly was obsessed with roses. The floors of her palaces were said to be carpeted with layers of rose petals. Moreover it was then that the rose was beginning to establish its seemingly very modern identity as a symbol of love: people would give wreaths of roses to their beloved, hanging them on doors to those they held feelings for.

It''s to the Chinese however that we owe the red and crimson coloured rose. The rose was important to the Chinese culture: even Confucius had hundreds of volumes about how to properly take care of roses.

As well as all this, roses remain precious not only as beautiful flowers. They can be put to other uses too. For instance, you can make pure rose oil, which is one of the most precious essential oils on the planet. However it won''t necessarily be easy to make: you need five thousand pounds of petals just to make one pound of oil.

Napoleon meanwhile would give his officers bags of rose petals. This was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not because he wanted them to know how much they meant to him, but in order that they could boil them in white wine in order to cure lead poisoning from bullet wounds.

A special and distinct language surrounds roses, in use in many time periods and in different parts of the world. This language developed originally in the Middle East, as a means by which lovers could contact one another even though they were unable to express themselves to each other. In this language giving roses of different colours is a way of expressing different feelings, for example yellow roses sent following a first encounter may mean the person who sends them is trying to say he is not looking for a lasting partnership. Budding red roses meanwhile represent desire still forming and an open red rose conversely stands for love which is already acknowledged.

With such a rich and vivid history, it''s no wonder why so many people still to this day choose roses in order to express their love. If you want to give a gift to someone you love, there can hardly be a better way to say what you feel.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Kurt Tabler is a horticulturalist and freelance writer based in Bristol. They recommend Interflora for flower delivery Bristol.

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