June 12, 2017 (Monday)
Today is National Red Rose Day. Everyone loves red roses. Well, not everybody. The Queen of Hearts of Alice in Wonderland was furious because someone was painting her roses red. According to her, they are intended to be white. Offenders lose their heads.
To be fair, however, most people love red roses. They are much in demand, and at times are quite expensive. The price of a dozen roses at Valentine’s Day, for example, can exceed $100. Ordinarily, if you want to buy yours at Wal Mart, you can get them for about $15.00.
Red roses are not the only color you will find in roses. They come in many species and colors. All are beautiful.
Roses are the reasons for many celebrations around the country. It is around this time of year that Portland, Oregon has its marvelous parades, following a tradition more than 100 years old.
There is the Rose Parade before the Rose Bowl in California.
Tyler, Texas, is the Rose capital of the nation and has the largest municipal rose garden in the country.
Don’t forget the Rose Garden at the White House.
The “Wars of the Roses” was an era of English history when the houses of York and Lancaster fought for the throne, with one symbolized by a white rose and the other by a red rose. There was also a rose for the house of Tudor. “The War of the Roses” was a movie about something very different.
The Red Rose seems to be a symbol of love, and that accounts for its popularity, especially around Valentine’s Day.
Sometimes the love is not mutual, and then it’s time for a song (Written by Bob Hilliard and Steve Nelson) to be sent with the roses:
I’m sending you a big bouquet of roses
One for every time you broke my heart
And as the door of love between us closes
Tears will fall like petals when we part
I begged you to be different, but you’ll always be untrue
I’m tired of forgivin’, now there’s nothin’ left to do
So I’m sending you a big bouquet of roses
One for every time you broke my heart
I know that I should hate you after all you’ve put me through
But how can I be bitter when I’m still in love with you?
So I’m sending you a big bouquet of roses
One for every time you broke my heart.
Click here to hear Eddie Arnold sing “Bouquet of Roses”
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The Bible and the Rose
The name “Rose of Sharon” first appears in English in 1611 in the King James Version of the Bible. In Song of Solomon 2:1, the speaker (the beloved) says “I am the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley”. the Hebrew word, ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ (חֲבַצֶּ֫לֶת=”crocus”), occurs three times in the scriptures; in Song of Solomon, Isaiah 35:1 and Isaiah 65:10, which reads “the desert shall bloom like the rose.”