Rose Color Meanings
Some Rose Color Meanings are Based on Traditions Centuries Old
Many people know what the rose color meanings are when they have flowers sent to someone. That’s because most rose color meanings go back for centuries and are longstanding traditions.
The meaning of the red rose, for example, can be traced back to Roman and Greek mythology where it was associated with the goddess of love. Some early cultures used red roses to decorate for weddings, and later, roses started to be exchanged with one another as a sign of affection. Through these kinds of developments rose color meanings started to be set. The red rose became a symbol of romance, love, and fidelity. Today, red roses are thought of as the rose of love. They can represent a person’s seriousness about a relationship for they have evolved to be a representation of true love. Whether someone sends a dozen red roses or a single red rose, the message is meaning is the same: I love you.
Rose color meanings for pink go back a very long ways because almost all of the first roses to be bred were pink. Because giving a rose was a statement of love and gratitude, those feelings became associated with the pink color of the first roses and remained that way even after different color roses started to be bred. Most Old Garden Roses were pink and so this meaning was established quite early on. Today, the pink rose color meaning remains one of love, gratitude, thankfulness, and special-ness. Anyone receiving pink roses should feel loved and appreciated.
Yellow roses have a meaning of their own. They are, in fact, primarily an expression of friendship. The first yellow roses to be discovered were growing wild in the Middle East. The yellow rose as we know it wasn’t cultivated until new methods of growing hybrids were established. Rose color meanings for the yellow rose have changed with time and culture. In Europe, the first yellow roses were used to signify jealousy. Thankfully, however, this beautiful rose eventually took on a different meaning closer to its meaning in Eastern cultures--warmth, cheerfulness, joy, light, and friendship.
The meaning of a white colored rose has never changed throughout the centuries. It remains as always a sign of purity, innocence, and true love. That’s why it is traditional for bridal bouquets to be composed of white roses and other white flowers. In another sense, the white rose is thought of as a symbol of spiritual love and heaven. White roses are often used at funerals to symbolize this meaning. A white rose can also be given to signify hope or a new start.
Orange roses are considered new as roses go, not being cultivated until the beginning of the twentieth century. An orange rose is almost always used to represent passion. In a relationship it signifies desire, actually a burning desire for the lover. In other usage it takes on the meaning of warm and glowing, as in an orange sunset or an orange light. Orange flowers have also become the primary flower used to celebrate Halloween.