One Roman legend has it that there once lived a beautiful maiden named Rodanthe. She was pursued by a number of admirers who broke down her door to seek her hand in marriage. This angered the goddess Diana, who turned Rodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.
In one of the many myths surrounding the origins of Valentine's Day, a young priest named St Valentine was beheaded by Emperor Claudius II.
He has gone against the king's ban against young soldiers getting married, and secretly carried out weddings.
It is believed that centuries after St Valentine's death, lovers everywhere celebrated his greatness with roses.
The popularity of the roses as a Valentine's Day flower reportedly rose around the 17th century.
Some said the symbolic meaning behind roses stemmed from the belief that the red rose was the favourite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Over time, it was dubbed the flower of love and passion.
And if these myths still cannot satisfy one's curiosity as to why roses came to symbolise love, here's one more intriguing fact.
The letters in "rose" can be rearranged to form "Eros" - also known as the god of love.
~ Extracted from The Straits Times
12 Feb 2012, Sunday ~
