Valentines Day on 14th February is famous for flowers and cards. Roses especially are used to say to your Valentine that you love them. Red, as the symbolic colour of the heart is also especially popular. It is a day when couples the world over express their love to each other.
The day was named after Saint Valentine but there is no agreement on who Saint Valentine himself was and there are three popular stories about a man named Valentine
However, the introduction of flowers for Valentines Day is less contentiously said to have started in the 16th century when the Swedish king Charles II introduced the Persian custom of using flowers to express yourself.
Roses are also the favourite flower of the Greek goddess Venus who is known as the goddess of love. The red rose symbolises love and passion. Other red flowers also symbolise love but not in quite the same way as roses do.