The rose is one of the most popular symbols of love today. It's no wonder, then, that roses are often given to that special someone on Valentine's Day. What might be surprising, though, is that this beautiful flower also has a long and intriguing history.
Roses have existed for 35 million years. However, they only began to be cultivated around 5,000 years ago. First grown in Asia, they eventually spread to the rest of the world. Roses were valued not only for their beauty, but also for the medical properties they were believed to have. The ancient Romans, for example, believed that these flowers could be used as a cure for wrinkles and even to prevent drunkenness. In the seventeenth century, rose water became so popular that it took the place of money in some parts of Europe!
Mass cultivation of roses began in the late eighteenth century in Europe. Through crossbreeding, new colors, such as yellow, orange, green, and red, were soon introduced to join the traditional roses. Rose colors took on different meanings as well, with red representing love, yellow friendship, and white innocence.
玫瑰是今日最受歡迎的愛情象徵之一。那麼，情人節那天玫瑰通常會拿來送給心儀的對象就不足為奇了。不過或許令人驚訝的是，這種美麗的花朵也有一段悠久且引人入勝的歷史。
玫瑰已存在三千五百萬年了。然而，它大約在五千年前才開始被人類培育種植。玫瑰原生於亞洲，最後散布到世界其他各處。玫瑰被看重的不只是花美而已，據信玫瑰還具有醫療的特性。舉例來說，古羅馬人相信這些花朵可以用來治療皺紋，甚至能預防酒醉。在十七世紀時，玫瑰水變得非常受歡迎以致於在歐洲某些地方取代了金錢的功用！
玫瑰大量培育始於十八世紀末的歐洲。透過混種培育，黃色、橘色、綠色和紅色等新的顏色很快被引進，加入傳統玫瑰的行列。玫瑰的顏色也具有不同的意義，紅色代表愛情，黃色代表友誼，而白色代表純真。
文章出處：Live互動英語雜誌
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