You know that roses and Valentine's Day belong together, but do you know WHY they belong together?
The tradition of presenting a loved one with Valentine Day roses was introduced nearly 200 years ago by a king in Sweden who wanted to show his love for a young maiden.
Because roses possess a long history of meaning love, adoration and devotion, the king thought that revealing his love in an exquisitely nonverbal way of giving his beloved a large bouquet of fresh valentine roses would present his emotions more effectively and in a surprising way.
Unfortunately no one knows for sure what happened after the lucky lady received the roses but it must have impressed her because other men soon began repeating the king's gesture.
During the 17th century, roses became extremely popular in England as a way to “converse”
with one's lover.
The meanings of roses of different colors were well known and specific among young adults,
which allowed them to carry on long, romantic yet wordless conversations with
their lovers. Flower “messages” were given as a single rose or in bouquets
delivered to their beloved's door by an anonymous messenger.
As a result, Valentine Day roses maintained their meanings of true love, passion and romantic feelings.
The rose clipart on this page is free for you to use, just follow the simple rules I have written on Homepage.
Together with the Valentine bear graphics and the Valentine clipart you can find on this site you should have so many ways of making great and beautiful Valentine cards, gift cards and more.
On the page Valentines Day Hearts you can read about how to use all this material for making your own personal Valentines Day e-card.
Several
intriguing myths surround the history of how the rose came to
symbolize love.
One Roman myth has Flora, the goddess of flowers,
discovering a woman's dead body while strolling through the woods.
The sight of such youth and beauty lying dead and decaying on the
forest floor led her to transform the corpse into the rose,
considered by many to be the most beautiful flower in the world.
The
name “rose” emerges from the name Flora gave the flower, which is
Eros, who is the Roman god of love.
• Another rose creation story has Venus, the female counterpart of
Eros, creating roses from the drops of her tears.
Some other myths
have the Roman gods celebrating the birth of Venus by creating the
rose bush to glorify her emergence from the foam of the sea.
• Even Christian mythology presents its own version of how the rose
became red.
While living in the Garden of Eden before the fall, Eve
is supposed to have kissed a white rose, making the flower blush and
redden.
A 4th century bishop named Bishop Basil wrote that the rose bush did not have thorns until Adam and Eve were forced out of Eden.
Although the majority of roses given on Valentine's Day are red, roses exhibit other colors as well, all with different meanings associated with the color.
Red roses symbolize eternal love and commitment
as well as courage, respect, passion and trust. This meaning arises
from the various ancient Greek and Roman myths and remains as a one
of the most romantic ways to say “I love you.”
However, the color
red expresses different meanings in other cultures. For example,
Asians considered red to convey prosperity and happiness, while
Middle Eastern individuals see red as symbolizing danger, harm or
evil. South Africans view red roses as representing mourning and
grieving. Alternatively, people in India think of red as the color
of life, purity and honor.
White
roses given as Valentine Day roses, convey a message of “missing you”
or “you are divine,” according to the concepts symbolized by the
color white.
White roses mean quietness, innocence, truth, reverence,
unity, purity and patience. In addition, white roses are frequently
used in bridal bouquets due to its association with unification and
virtue. As a funeral flower, white roses are deemed appropriate
because they also symbolize reverence, respect, pureness,
heavenliness and honor.
Yellow
and orange roses chosen for Valentine Day convey a message of friendship,
hope, celebration, freedom and joy to the recipient.
Giving someone
yellow roses is an old tradition that meant “let's be friends,” “get
well” or “welcome home.”
Currently, yellow roses are often given to
new mothers or from friends to newlyweds to congratulate them on
their respective life events. The color yellow is associated with
the life-giving, warm rays of the sun, which predominantly
contributes to the development of its symbolic meaning.
Pink
roses are similar in meaning but do not convey the passion behind
red roses, Valentine Day roses that are pink are saying “thank you
very much” or “I love you” in either a friendly or less passionate
manner.
Pink symbolizes sweetness, gracefulness, friendship,
gentleness, deep admiration and sometimes the possibility of an
intense friendship turning into love.
Pink roses are versatile and
can be given to anyone in just about any type of situation. Brides
often carry bouquets comprised of white and pink roses.
All these Valentine graphics of roses are saved in the format PNG, which means they are with a transparent background. That makes it easy to use on top of something else, and use for gift cards, Valentine cards etc.
As you can see below, a yellow rose can have many different colors, a white rose can look yellow on a photo, and pink - well, pink is really a matter of definition :-)
Soft yellow rose PNG |
Soft yellow Valentine rose | Orange rose clipart |
Yellow rose with green leaves | Head of yellow rose |
A few interesting facts about the rose include:
• Valentine Day roses are grown in hothouses as bushy, woody
perennials ranging in size from small bushes around seven
centimeters (2.8 inches) tall to vines reaching five meters (16 feet)
or more, depending on species of rose.
The telltale thorns or
prickles lining the stems of roses are thought to have arisen as an
adaption to protecting roots, decreasing the amount of erosion that
blowing sand has on the flower and as a deterrent to herbivores
wanting to eat the flowers and leaves.
• The rose was made the national flower of the United States in 1986
• Rose “fruit” are called rosehips, which produce rose oil, a
substance containing nutrients, beta-carotene and bioflavonoids
beneficial to human health.
As a medicinal oil, rosehip oil is
supposed to improve immune system functioning and reduce the risk of
developing diseases prone to immune system impairment.
Additionally,
rose oil is a major part of the perfume industry, as well as the
rose petals, which after being crushed, are steamed to release the
natural, aromatic oils.
• Flower historians think that roses were initially cultivated in China about 2000 years ago, where the act of pruning roses was discovered to enhance growth of the bush or vine.
The clipart of white roses don't look like much, but when you place them on a colored background - then it is suddenly a completely different matter:
White rose bud | White rose for Valentine's Day |
White Valentine rose | White Rose Bud |
A white rose for Valentine | Valentine rose clipart |
Two white roses PNG |
Pink Valentine Rose | Soft pink Valentine rose |
Valentine's Day pink rose | Purple-pink rose |
While no superstitions regarding the gift of Valentines Day roses exist, except for the notion that whoever receives the roses will return the feeling, the rose does have its share of strange superstitions that are still believed and practiced today in some parts of the world.
Some of these superstitions include:
• According to Celtic legends, you could silence a screaming, lost spirit by giving it a wild rose every time a full moon arose in the sky.
• Nailing a rose to the door of a room where a confidential conversation is taking place will compel people involved in the discussion to keep their secrets. Ancient Roman military leaders did this.
• Throwing rose leaves into a fire is supposed to bring good luck.
• Vampires are repelled by wild roses and will not approach them. This gave rise to the superstition that laying roses on a coffin lid would prevent the corpse from returning from the dead.
• Stakes used to kill vampires should be made from wild rosebushes or an ash tree.
• Accidentally pricking a finger with the thorn of a rose so deeply red in color that it appears black is said to portend of an imminent disaster.
Receiving a beautiful bouquet of Valentine Day roses is both exciting and romantic, making those who own them wish they could keep them forever.
• If the Valentine Day roses received are not already in a vase, cut the stems at an angle in order to fit them into a vase. This type of angle cut will facilitate absorption of water and keep roses hydrated longer
• Remove leaves that touch the water
• Empty the water every two days and replace it with fresh, clean water. Clean the vase if the water appears less than clear and only put enough water in the vase to cover five or six inches of the rose stems
• Add plant food to the water. Putting a penny in the water will also prevent bacteria from proliferating in the water as well. Additionally, rose enthusiasts sometimes mix a small amount of lemon-lime pop to the water as rose plant food.
• Keep your Valentine Day roses in a cool area of your home when you are not displaying them during the day. Try not to place them in direct sunlight because the warmth will cause them to wilt twice as fast
• Once your Valentine Day roses begin to wilt, you can dry and preserve them by hanging them up upside down and allowing the petals to fall to the ground. Place petals on paper towels to enhance the drying process. Use them as potpourri or in creating a dried flower arrangement
You will find more roses on Rose Clipart and Pictures of Roses.
Valentine's Day Frames: All sorts of frames for Valentine's Day greetings and poems, even photos. | Valentine Clipart: Lots of funny and sweet Valentine drawings and greetings. |
Valentine Ideas: The main page with an overview of all the pages here with Valentine ideas. | Valentine Greeting Cards: Genuine Valentine cards free for you to use for your own personal use. |
Valentines Bear: They are so cute all these bears with Valentine hearts. | Valentine Day Hearts: A page with wonderful and funny Valentine hearts. |
Valentine Coloring Pages: Funny and sweet coloring pages with animals, hearts and other things connected with Valentine. | Flower Clipart: The main page with an overview, of rose clipart, flower borders etc. |
Holiday Clipart: With an overview of all the pages here with holiday images this is the main page. | Free Printable Valentine Cards: Lots of free funny and cute Valentine greeting cards. |
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