Do you see the world through rose colored glasses? Traditionally this saying was used to describe someone who only sees pleasant things around them, blissfully ignorant of any problems.
Roses actually come in a variety of colors, so you could wear a set of yellow or blue rose colored glasses and experience a completely different set of emotions than with the traditional red or pink lenses.
Throughout history, roses have been given on every imaginable occasion, and this highly symbolic gesture has continued to evolve in meaning and tradition.
Give the wrong color rose and you could be socially ostracized- well, most likely not, but it never hurts to be aware of the symbolic meaning of the roses you are going to send.
Many of our ideas about the symbolic meaning behind plants and flower colors come from Victorian times, when people did not feel free to verbally express certain feelings. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, first in Europe and then later in the Americas, language-of-flowers dictionaries flourished, giving proper Victorian people a more societally acceptable way to communicate deep, passionate feelings.
Red, at least on St. Valentines Day, is the most commonly given color of rose, and it usually symbolizes romantic love. It can also symbolize courage and passion, but giving red roses to someone not aware of this could lead to an uncomfortable misunderstanding. Be aware of the possible perceptions of your intended recipient.
While all red roses symbolize desire, subtle variations in color can have different symbolic meaning. Amaranth red roses are a symbol of long standing desire, and cardinal red means sublime desire. Carmine means false desire, and fiery red can represent flames of passion. A deep red rose can indicate bashful shame. The burgundy rose has always been symbolic of unconscious beauty.
Do you need a rose that sends a more platonic message of friendship and good will? Consider the yellow rose, messenger of joy, friendship, caring, sympathy, delight. A yellow rose can also symbolize new beginnings, and can say, "Remember Me".
In Victorian times, yellow roses were a symbol of jealousy. The ambiguous nature of the meaning of yellow roses lends magic to this color choice as a gift.
