一到情人节，交往中的女生们就会开始期待收到男友送的红玫瑰花。为何情人节要送红玫瑰？红玫瑰是从什么时间起成为爱情的象征的？这要从古希腊的神话传闻讲起。
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For people in satisfying and committed relationships—or at least pretending to be—there’s Valentine’s Day, a holiday in which romance comes with a price tag attached and warm feelings are represented by a fresh bouquet of red roses.
情人节是那些恋爱甜蜜又稳定（或表面看来是这样）的情侣的节日。在情人节，浪漫被贴上了价格标签，新鲜的红玫瑰花束成了爱情的代言者。
But why roses? And why red? How did they come to be synonymous with Valentine’s Day?
但为何是玫瑰花而且必须要红玫瑰？红玫瑰是如何成为情人节的代名词的？
According toReader’s Digest, red roses became entangled with love in Greek lore. “Some stories say that the first red rose was created when the Greek goddess Aphrodite was scratched by a white rose’s thorn, causing that rose to turn red,” folklorist Sara Cleto, PhD, told the outlet. “Others say that the first red rose grew on the ground wher Adonis, Aphrodite’s lover, died and the goddess’s tears fell.”
据《读者文摘》介绍，红玫瑰和爱情的关联来自于希腊传闻。民俗学者萨拉·克莱托博士说道：“一些传闻中讲到，希腊女神阿芙洛狄特被一株白玫瑰的刺划伤了，从而诞生出第一朵红玫瑰。还有一些版本的说法是，第一朵红玫瑰是在阿芙洛狄特的眼泪脱落在她的情人阿多尼斯过世的地方时长出来的。”
Properly dramatic, but the ascent of red roses as a romantic gift really grew in 19th-century England, when the idea of assigning meaning to different varieties of flowers grew. For those wishing to communicate their romantic interest in a potential mate, that meant sending floral bouquets.
传闻挺有戏剧性的，但红玫瑰作为浪漫礼物的传统其实来自于19世纪的英格兰，那个年代的人开始给不同类型的花赋予不一样的意义。那时候大家借由送鲜花束向心上人求爱。
Red roses in particular began to have connotations with love because, at the time, red dye was expensive and seen as a luxury. That a red rose provided similar visual appeal made it seem special.
在各种鲜花中，红玫瑰和爱情的联系尤为紧密，由于当时红色染料非常昂贵，被视为奢侈品。一朵红玫瑰在视觉上给人带来同样的奢侈感觉，从而看上去很与众不同。
Practically speaking, the idea has endured because unlike other flowers, red roses tolerate transportation pretty well. They’re a good blend of aesthetics and hardiness, two good traits for flowers that need to be portable as well as striking.
从务实的角度来讲，红玫瑰和爱情之间的关联之所以这样持久，是由于红玫瑰在运输中可以保存得非常不错，与其他鲜花不同。送人的鲜花既要便携又要引人注目，而红玫瑰则美感和坚韧二者兼具。
Roses are, of course, expensive, and if you’re more into the sentiment than the cash layout, you can find other ideas that can express your affection without contributing to the floral industry.
当然，玫瑰花价格不菲，假如你只想谈情说爱而不想砸钱，你也可以想想其他点子来表达你的爱，不需要非买花不可。
英文来源：Mental Floss
翻译编辑：丹妮
