ROSE SUNDAY

Do you know that there is a Rose Sunday in the Christian calendar?  The fourth Sunday in Lent which is March 18 this year is Laetare Sunday or Rose Sunday.  On this day, the Pope blesses an ornament called the Golden Rose.  This ornament looks like a spray of roses and one of the roses has a receptacle for balsam and musk.

The vestment for this day will be rose, a custom originating from the fact that rose is a symbol of joy and hope.  The wearing of rose vestment is an ancient tradition which dates back before 1051 when Pope Leo IX spoke of it as an ancient institution at that time.  Originally, the Pope blessed a real rose, then a single golden rose of fine workmanship until the fifteenth century when a bunch of roses in wrought gold was used.  The golden rose represents Christ in the shining splendor of His majesty, the "flower sprung from the root of Jesse".  The Pope blesses the rose every year.  It is often presented to a church, a shrine, a city, a sovereign or a very important person.  Once the rose is conferred, a new rose is commissioned for the succeeding year. 

Strange as it may seem, Pope Julius II and Leo X both sent the sacred rose to Henry VIII.  In 1856, Isabella II of Spain received the “Rose;” and  Charlotte, Empress of Mexico, and Eugénie, Empress of France, were also honoured by it.  Pope Leo XIII around 1893, awarded Queen Marie Henriette , wife of King Leopold II the Golden Rose of Virtue, a goldsmith’s work of art given occasionally to a Catholic king or queen. 

In 1895, a new office called “Bearer of the Golden Rose” was instituted in Rome

The Rose is full of fascinating history and we have to continue to plant and preserve it.  Roses are easy plants to grow contrary to popular belief. Why do you think Roses have been around for millions of years?  All they need are food, water and sunlight.  Just like you and me. 

Here at Rose Gardening World, we’ll educate you about the Rose - our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states.  Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World where Rose Gardening Tips, Rose Growing Advice, Planting a Rose Garden, Rose Descriptions, Where to Buy Roses, Where to see Rose Gardens, Rose Culture, Rose History, Rose Events, Rose Verses are all here in one place.  

We are constantly updating our contents so visit Rose Gardening World often.  We want to help you grow Beautiful Roses and we welcome comments.  Take time and smell the roses.  Happy Rose Gardening!

Check my other blogs:

• YES, YOU CAN GROW BEAUTIFUL ROSES 
• KNOCK OUT ROSES
• EARTHKIND ROSES
• OSO EASY ROSES
• OSO HAPPY ROSES
• ROSE SUPPLIERS
• WILL THERE BE A SHORTAGE OF ROSES IN 2012?
• PLANTING BARE-ROOT ROSES
• CLEANING ROSE PRUNERS BLADES
• PRUNING YOUR ROSES
• AARS WINNER FOR 2012
• DAVID AUSTIN ROSES

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THE WARS OF THE ROSES

Welcome to the World of Rose Gardening or Rose Gardening World.  Take time and smell the roses.  Roses have been around for millions of years which just prove that roses are not difficult to grow. The Rose is also our National Floral Emblem and the state flower of several states.  Here at Rose Gardening World, you’ll find rose articles that will educate you about roses – its history, rose culture, rose profiles and even rose verses all in one place.  So visit Rose Gardening World often. 

The 15^th century Wars of the Roses in England came about as a result of a period of weak government, which resulted in a dispute between the houses of Lancaster and York over the succession to the English throne.  The House of Lancaster chose a red rose probably R. gallica officinalis for Lancaster’s emblem and the House of York chose a white rose probably R. ‘Alba Maxima’ as the York’s emblem. 

 

When Edmund Langley, first Earl of Lancaster and the second son of Henry III of England visited Provins, France in 1277, he saw a red rose which the Comte de Brie had acquired while on a Crusade, Edmund took it back to England to become the badge of the House of Lancaster.  Under the emblem of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York, the longest civil war in English history was fought, the Wars of the Roses.  

The fortunes of the two houses waxed and waned.  After thirty years of fighting, peace finally prevailed.  Eventually the Lancastrian claimant was victorious at the battle of Bosworth field and became Henry VII, Earl of Lancaster and married Elizabeth, the Duchess of York.  Every year, Elizabeth gave her husband a white rose sealing the peace between the houses.  The two emblems were combined in the red and white Tudor rose (R. gallica versicolor), as a sign of national unity.  The Tudor rose is still the national flower of England.

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