June 12 National Red Rose Day #NationalRedRoseDay I don’t know about you but I love Roses and do does Charlie. When we was putting together our Outside Garden for the front porch I knew Roses and Tulips along with Rose Moss was some of the Flowers I wanted to plant. Along with a miniature Rose Bush which I thought I would get pink Roses.
Usually Kroger’s has the Miniature Rose Bushes but this time they didn’t have any of the Roses. David stopped by Albertson’s and he saw the Roses I had been looking for and we went back and got a Red Rose Bush and they had a Greenish/ White Rose I liked but I wasn’t able to get back to get it. I will next year though if it’s God’s will.
In our Garden I like to pick plants that mean something to the people Charlie and I love. The Red Roses if for my mom who asked for Red Roses when her dad my grandfather passed away. Plus red is my mom and David’s mom’s favorite color as well as Charlie’s when he was little Along with yellow Tulips for Suzzie and my grandmother Dorie. With Rose Moss my grandmother and I would plant in her garden when I was a child. Then a bunch of random flowers Charlie and I fall in love with.
Red Rose Day is celebrated on June 12th, in the U.S., to pay tribute to one of the most iconic symbols of love and romance throughout history. The red Rose is also the birth flower for June, and we all know June is a popular month for weddings; so what could be more apt. While roses all over the Nation begin to bloom, National Red Rose Day is a time for lovers, botanists, florists, and basically, anyone else, to get together to pay tribute to this classical Flower.
The Rose has stood the test of time and will probably do so for years to come. The best part is that there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re a nature lover, just stopping to smell the Roses and marvel at their beauty; or if you’re a hopeless romantic who likes to make gestures — the red Rose is as versatile as can be, to suit your interpretation of it. Also, did you know that in three different languages Spanish, Portuguese, and French the word ‘Rose’ means ‘red?’ I didn’t know that did you?
In keeping with the sense of romance and mystique which a red Rose can evoke, the exact origins of Red Rose Day are unknown, though it is said to have branched off from Rose Day (celebrated during Valentine’s Week in February), for the past decade. Whatever the reason for this separation, we are glad to have an excuse to give the red Rose its due.
Surprisingly, the first records of Roses being cultivated come from China, around 5000 years ago, during the Han Dynasty (141-87 B.C.). Though the flowers were what we call Chinese Roses (a variant of Hibiscus flowers) or wild Roses, they had similar characteristics to the modern-day red Rose and can be seen in paintings and pottery of that era.
The red Rose then made its way to the culture-soaked civilizations of Rome and Greece, where the red Rose was cultivated and evolved into what we know it as today, in the Middle East especially. For the Greeks and Romans, the red Rose was a symbol of luxury and an object of inspiration for many painters and writers. Perhaps that is why we now associate red Roses with passion and grandiosity. By the time Christianity spread to Europe, the Rose’s popularity dipped because the Rose was seen as encouraging vices like excess and decadence.
However, the Rose soon rose in popularity again and went on to have a bit of a bloody history too. In Tudor England (1500s), two royal factions — House of York and House of Lancaster, each with a Rose as their symbol, fought a series of battles against each other; which are now collectively termed as the War of the Roses. House Lancaster (red Rose) eventually emerged victoriously and the two roses were merged to form the ‘Tudor Rose’. Other than this bit of violent history, however, the red Rose continues to be a popular expression of love, romance, beauty, and all things that are right with the world.
HOW TO CELEBRATE RED ROSE DAY
- There’s a trend on social media to share prompts and let people create what they will around red Rose. Let the red Rose be your prompt and see where your creativity leads you. Go the classic route with a song, poem, or painting; or think out-of-the-box and use the red Rose to create something uniquely you!
- If we had a dime for every red Rose reference in pop culture throughout the ages, we’d be able to afford a Rose petal bath every day! Red Roeses can be found in songs, movies, books, or quotes sharing Rose references abound. Do some research today, and get your gang together, and organize a Rose-themed pub quiz?
- Since June is when the Roses are looking their best, plan an outing with friends or family, to take in that sweet Summer air in any of the popular Rose Gardens around the Country.
FACTS ABOUT ROSES
- Not just the U.S. National flower Ecuador, Slovakia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Maldives, England, Iran, Iraq, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Romania all claim the Rose as their own.
- The oldest living Rose is the Hildesheim Rose which is 1000 years old, growing in a Cathedral in Hildesheim, Germany.
- Here is a tip for you or caution to the wise you need to be careful when you pick out Roses, because each color expresses something different.
- Rose breeder, David Austin, spent 15 years and $5 million on his Juliet Rose, which sold for a whopping $15.8 million, in 2006.
- In ancient Rome, wearing a red Rose or keeping a red Rose outside a door meant one is sworn to secrecy, hence the term ‘sub rosa’ means ‘secret’.
WHY PEOPLE LOVE RED ROSE DAY
- Whatever your cultural context, the red Rose unites us all with its universal symbolism for love, romance, passion, and intrigue. Fast- forward to today and Weddings the world over continue to use red Roses in decorations, bouquets, and wedding attire. Red Roses complement many a blushing bride. To this day, giving someone a red Rose is an unspoken confession of love, no matter where in the world you are.
- Complete with a heartwarming anecdote, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Australia celebrates its own National Red Rose Day sometime in Ma), thanks to the mispronunciation of a four year old suffering from the same condition. In 1965, Mary Weiss volunteered for the Cystic Fibrosis US Foundation, knowing her three sons had it. Her son Richard told his mom that she worked for “65 Roses,” and thus the day of awareness was born creating ‘65 Roses for Cystic Fibrosis,’ with the foundation’s logo including a Rose.
- To quote Shakespeare, “A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, yet we’re glad the name stuck. To think of a red Rose is to think of its heady fragrance; so it’s no wonder that Rose essence is a popular perfume ingredient. Roses also have medicinal value and are used in cooking and beverages too including Cocktails!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
