A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

There it was, a rose wedged between thewooden slates of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mythology and superstition

• In some pagan mythologies, no undead or ghostly creatures (particularly vampires) may cross the path of a wild rose. It was thought that to place a wild rose on a coffin of a recently deceased person would prevent them from rising again.
• Since the earliest times, the rose has been an emblem of silence:
  • In Greek Mythology, Eros presents a rose to the god of silence.
  • In a Celtic folk legend, a wandering, screaming spiritnew moon. was silenced by presenting the spirit with a wild rose every
• Roses were used in very early times as a very potent ingredient in love philters.
• In Rome it was often customary to bless roses on "Rose Sunday".
• Amongst Muslims, it is still believed that the first rose was created from a tear of the prophet Mohammed, and it is further believed that on a certain day in the year the rose has a heart of gold.
• In Scotland, if a white rose bloomed in autumn it was a token of an early marriage.
• The red rose, it is believed by many religions, cannot grow over a grave.
• Rose leaves thrown into a burning flame are said to give good luck.
• If a maiden had more than one lover, it is believed in one mythology, she should take rose leaves and write the names of her lovers upon them before casting them into the wind. The last leaf to reach the ground would bear the name of the lover whom she should marry.
• It is believed that if a rose bush were pruned on St. John's Eve, it would be guaranteed to bloom in the autumn.