Valentine Day Roses, Valentine Graphics

Presenting a loved one with Valentine Day roses is a tradition 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. 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. Meanings 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.

Valentine Day Roses

The roses on this page are 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 the pages Valentine Bear and Valentine Clipart, 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.

Some of the rose clipart below is saved as PNG, which i similar to GIF, without the background.

Valentine graphics	Valentine graphics
Yellow orange Valentine rose PNG	Happy Valentine pink rose PNG

History of the Rose in Mythology

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.

• According to Roman mythology, the rose got its red coloring when Aphrodite, running to help her dying lover Adonis, cut herself on the thorns of a white rose bush. Her blood is said to have covered the roses, creating the rich red color of traditional Valentine Day roses.

• 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.

Meanings of the Colors of Valentine Day Roses

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 roses chosen for Valentine Day roses 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.

Facts about the 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.

Valentine Day 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.

Valentine graphics	Valentine graphics	Valentine clip art
Red Valentine rose	Red Valentine roses	Soft yellow Valentine rose
Valentine roses	Valentine clip art	Valentine graphics
White rose bud	White pink rose	Pink rose

Rose Superstitions

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.

Caring for Valentine Day Roses

Receiving a beautiful bouquet of Valentine Day roses is both exciting and romantic, making those who own them wish they could keep them forever. Although you cannot maintain the fresh beauty of valentine roses for more than several weeks, ways to extend the life of cut roses to enjoy the aroma and loveliness of them as long as possible include:

• 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

Why are Roses so Expensive?

Valentine Day roses are expensive because of their worldwide popularity and marvelous ability to speak a passionate message without needing to utter a sound. The demand for roses remains consistently high year round but naturally peaks on Valentine's Day. Additionally, rose oil is used extensively as alternative treatment for various medical conditions including depression and wounds as an antiseptic. Roses do not produce much oil so a small bottle of rose oil can be quite expensive.

The tradition of giving Valentine Day roses, or even a single Valentine rose, has existed for hundreds of years. It will undoubtedly continue to be a cherished tradition for hundreds of years to come.