A Guide to Valentine's Flowers and Their Symbolism in Fables and History
Flowers have served as messengers of emotion throughout human history, their meanings woven into mythology, folklore, and cultural tradition. While Valentine's Day has become synonymous with red roses, the language of flowers—known as floriography—encompasses a rich tapestry of blooms, each carrying its own symbolic weight across different eras and civilizations.
The Rose: Queen of Valentine's Day
The rose dominates Valentine's floral tradition, but its symbolism runs far deeper than modern greeting cards suggest. In Greek mythology, the rose emerged from the sea foam alongside Aphrodite, the goddess of love, immediately linking it to beauty and desire. According to one Roman legend, when Aphrodite (Venus in Roman mythology) rushed to aid her dying lover Adonis, she pricked her foot on white rose thorns, staining them red with her blood—thus creating the red rose as a symbol of passionate, sacrificial love.
Different colored roses carried distinct meanings in Victorian floriography. Red roses signified deep romantic love and respect, while pink roses conveyed grace, admiration, and joy. White roses represented purity and innocence, often associated with new love or reverence. Yellow roses, contrary to their modern association with friendship, originally symbolized jealousy and infidelity, though this meaning shifted over time to represent platonic affection.
The number of roses also mattered: a single rose declared "I love you," a dozen proclaimed "be mine," and fifty roses expressed unconditional love.
Violets: Napoleon's Emblem of Devotion
The humble violet carries surprising romantic weight in historical tradition. Napoleon Bonaparte adopted the violet as his emblem, and when exiled to Elba, he promised Josephine he would return "with the violets in spring." His supporters became known as "violets," and the flower symbolized loyalty and faithfulness. After his escape and during the Hundred Days, violets appeared everywhere as coded symbols of his return.
In Greek mythology, violets sprang from the ground where Orpheus laid his lyre, connecting them to music, poetry, and artistic love. Medieval traditions held that violets worn on the body would strengthen the heart and calm anger, making them popular in love potions and charms.
Tulips: Persian Poetry and Dutch Passion
The tulip's romantic symbolism originates in Persian poetry and the Ottoman Empire, where the flower represented perfect love. The Persian legend of Farhad and Shirin tells of a stonecutter who fell desperately in love with the beautiful princess Shirin. Upon hearing false news of her death, Farhad rode his horse off a cliff in grief. Where his blood fell, red tulips bloomed as eternal symbols of perfect, all-consuming love.
During the Dutch Golden Age, tulips became so valuable they sparked economic mania, and presenting someone with tulips signified that they were priceless to you. Red tulips specifically declared passionate love, while purple tulips represented royalty and nobility in affection.
Carnations: Ancient Rome to Modern Sentiment
Carnations trace their symbolic history to ancient Rome, where they were called "Jove's flower" after Jupiter, king of the gods. Christian legend claims carnations first appeared on earth when the Virgin Mary wept at Christ's crucifixion, her tears producing pink carnations where they touched the ground, making them symbols of a mother's eternal love.
In the language of flowers, red carnations expressed admiration and deep love, pink carnations represented a mother's undying love, while white carnations symbolized pure love and good luck. Striped carnations, interestingly, conveyed refusal or regret, making them a coded way to reject a suitor politely.
Forget-Me-Nots: Medieval Romance and Memory
This delicate blue flower carries one of the most poignant legends in floral symbolism. Medieval German folklore tells of a knight and his lady walking along a riverbank. Upon seeing the small blue flowers, the knight attempted to pick them for his beloved but fell into the rushing water, weighed down by his armor. As the current swept him away, he threw the flowers to shore, crying "Vergiss mein nicht!" (Forget me not!)—his final words before drowning.
This tragic tale established forget-me-nots as symbols of true love that endures beyond death, faithfulness, and the importance of remembering those we love. They became popular in Victorian jewelry and keepsakes exchanged between lovers.
Orchids: Exotic Desire and Refined Beauty
Orchids carry complex symbolism rooted in ancient Greek etymology—the word "orchid" derives from "orchis," meaning testicle, due to the shape of the flower's roots. The ancient Greeks believed eating orchid tubers could determine a child's sex, linking them firmly to fertility and virility.
In Victorian times, orchids represented luxury, strength, and rare beauty. Giving someone an orchid suggested they were exotic, refined, and utterly unique. In Chinese culture, orchids symbolized refinement, fertility, and abundant offspring, making them auspicious gifts for new couples.
Daisies: Innocent Love and Freya's Tears
The cheerful daisy, despite its simplicity, carries ancient symbolic weight. In Norse mythology, daisies were sacred to Freya, goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. They represented motherhood, childbirth, and new beginnings. The English name "daisy" comes from "day's eye," as the flower opens with the sunrise.
Daisies symbolized innocence, loyal love, and purity, making them appropriate for new or young love. The practice of plucking petals while chanting "he loves me, he loves me not" dates back centuries as a form of romantic divination.
Lilies: Mythology and Majesty
White lilies appear throughout Greek and Roman mythology. According to legend, when Hera nursed the infant Hercules, drops of her milk fell to earth and sprouted into white lilies. The flower thus became associated with purity, majesty, and the divine feminine.
In Christian tradition, white lilies (particularly Madonna lilies) became symbols of the Virgin Mary's purity and virtue. Pink stargazer lilies, a more modern variety, represent wealth, prosperity, and ambition in love, while orange lilies convey passion and confidence.
Peonies: Chinese Prosperity and Romance
In Chinese culture, peonies reign as the "king of flowers" and symbolize romance, prosperity, honor, and a happy marriage. Legend tells of a brave young woman who disguised herself as a man to take her father's place in war. When she returned and revealed her true identity, peonies bloomed to honor her bravery and devotion—a story also told through the tale of Hua Mulan.
Peonies became traditional gifts at weddings and symbolized a happy, prosperous union. In the Victorian language of flowers, they represented bashfulness and shame, though this meaning rarely transferred to romantic contexts.
Jasmine: Moonlight and Sweet Affection
Jasmine holds special significance in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, where its intoxicating nighttime fragrance earned it associations with the moon, sensuality, and romance. In Hindu tradition, jasmine represents divine hope and is sacred to several deities. It's traditionally woven into bridal garlands.
In floriography, white jasmine symbolized sweet love and amiability, while yellow jasmine conveyed grace and elegance. The flower's connection to night-blooming beauty made it a symbol of mysterious, sensual attraction.
Forget Not the Language
The Victorian era elevated flower symbolism to an art form, creating entire dictionaries of floral meanings. Lovers could conduct entire conversations through carefully arranged bouquets, known as "talking bouquets" or tussie-mussies. The type of flower, its color, how it was presented (upright or inverted), and what it was paired with all conveyed nuanced messages.
This tradition drew on centuries of folklore, religious symbolism, and cross-cultural exchange, particularly from Turkish "selam" traditions that inspired European floriography. While some meanings have shifted or faded, the fundamental connection between flowers and romantic expression remains deeply embedded in human culture.
Today's Valentine's bouquets, whether traditional roses or more personalized selections, carry forward this ancient tradition of letting nature speak for the heart—a language that transcends words and endures across millennia.
