Yellow Roses
The Meaning of Yellow Roses – Yellow Roses are a Universal Symbol of Friendship
Yellow has long been the color most closely associated with the rays of the Sun, wisdom and enlightenment. So it is not unexpected that yellow roses represent joy, friendship and gladness.
Yellow roses can be symbols of freedom and causal affections, so you shouldn’t send them to a more serious romantic interest. But they can be an excellent way to say “Let’s be friends”. Or a way to convey “congratulations” to school graduates, new mothers, Texans of ages and newlyweds.
It wasn’t until the 18th century, that the first yellow rose was discovered growing wild in remote parts of the Middle East and was transplanted to Europe. Rose enthusiasts took to this new flower and quickly developed hybridization techniques that improved it appearance and other factors.
One important development was that the original Middle Eastern rose, apparently didn’t have a very pleasing fragrance and it took breeders some time to get a more pleasant aroma rose lovers were used to.
While today we think of yellow roses as being symbols of warmth and happiness, in the Victorian era, yellow roses were a sign of jealousy. Due to the social restrictions of the times, courting couples had to resort to exchanging different colored roses to express their feelings for one another.
Red was for love, pink a sign of gentility, white for innocence and apparently yellow roses were then a sign of a relationship that had “soured” like a lemon and represented jealousy.
This secret language of flowers, especially, roses has been passed down to the present. But luckily we have learned to value the bright side of yellow roses and they are often given as gifts of friendship and companionship.
Unlike other roses, which have heavy romantic or intimate overtones, yellow roses can be safely given as a sign of platonic love and friendship. They can also be given to “cheer up” someone or just to bring sunshine and warmth into a closed space.
The Meaning of Yellow Roses
Standing for all things joyful and carefree yellow roses have come to represent friendship and gladness or delight. Often families of returning war veterans will carry bouquets of yellow roses as a symbol of “Welcome Home” or “Welcome Back!” This practice seems to have been started because of a song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” in which the a returning traveler as welcomed home with yellow ribbons tied around trees in the front yard of his former love’s house.
Yellow Roses can mean:
- Friendship
- Joy
- Gladness
- Promise of a new beginning
- “Welcome Back” or “Remember Me?”
- Delight
- “I care”
Once you understand the meaning of yellow roses, you can use these flowers of sunlight to express your most genuine feelings.