Roses for Valentines Day
Roses for Valentines Day

Title

Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day we're investigating the red rose. 

Date

14 February 2019

Time

3:30pm - 9:30pm

Location

The Promenade, Cockle Bay Wharf, 1 Wheat Road, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
You hear Valentine's Day. You think roses, romance and ballads.

The single red rose is an obvious symbol of love. It's a Valentine's Day must. Many a romantic squabble has come about from roses, or lack thereof.

They're a timeless symbol of love and we still go crazy for them. In 2018 Australia broke its Valentine's Day record with more than 10.5 million rose stems imported before the big day.

Ever wonder why it's roses?

It could be any flower in the world, but we all love red roses.

It started back in Ancient Greece with Aphrodite. The Greek goddess symbolised love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Her major symbols include roses, doves, and swans. These symbols are all still big Valentine's Day hits.

Fast forward to the nineteenth century and Victorians used floral bouquets to woo their sweethearts. This tradition was called "floriography" and it's responsible for sealing the rose as an icon of love.

Floriography was also used to send secret romantic messages. Floral arrangements were used as a type of code. These sneaky bouquets could symbolise the sweet-nothings that couldn't be uttered aloud in Victorian society. Or maybe something more sinister?

Any reason for red?

The flower isn't the only expression of love. There's a little bit of colour psychology at play here.

The colour red causes a physical reaction. You'll feel an increased heart rate and faster breathing. It makes you feel passionate. Your body mimics all of those early-date nerves. And so, we associate red with passionate love.

So there we have it, a brief history of why the red rose became such a Valentine's Day must-have.

Find your rose

Catch our Cupids handing out free roses this Valentine's Day at Cockle Bay Wharf. They'll be at The Tree of Love from 3:30pm - 9:30pm on Thursday 14 February.

Don't forget to stick around for Light Up Your Love, our romantic light display.