In the Name of the Rose

The rose: eye-catching and beautiful, although seemingly disjointed; thorny, yet sweet; blood red, yet comforting...

A symbol…for bread and culture...

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As a starting point for this blog project of mine, I choose to draw upon my feelings after Norway’s tragedy of 22. July 2011. Because I felt. And I feel...

Racist and intolerant bigot-ism got the better of my native country for a few hours on that fateful day when I, and many others, was busy watching the world’s cycling elite labouring their way up yet another mountain of the Tour de France. Norwegian cycling idol, Thor Hushovd, was wearing the rainbow-coloured jersey as reigning world champion, and we were all on a high from his exploits sporting that multicoloured garment.

Then, for a few hours, just as the going reached its toughest in the French Alps, colourfulness was assaulted in Norway. Someone, whose eyes only discern black and white, made a foul and most cowardly attempt at rubbing out all that which he could neither detect nor prize. The office of the Prime Minister in Oslo was bombed and organisers and participants of a political summer camp at Utøya were gunned down in their dozens, forcing a strong response from those favouring the ideals of solidarity, diversity and multiculturalism.

It was a tense and emotional time for all who hold such ideals dear, but the response did come; and immediately so. While mainstream media took on the role (yet again) of speculating what could have been if the perpetrator had been of a different nationality, trying to diagnose hypotheticals (yet again), the people refused such ill logic - rather coming together in a hugging effort.

Streets, fountains, pathways, lawns and ponds were strewn with red roses; the rose rapidly became the symbol of the response - our response. The symbolism was one of tolerance, love and multiculturalism.

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So what does the rose mean? What is it about the rose that made it such a natural symbol of resistance against the wanton and wicked wits of the wrongdoer?

The rose has held various meanings to various civilisations and cultures. But there are similarities; there is a theme which runs throughout the rose’s history.

Since the days of Greek mythology, the rose has been used as a symbol of confidentiality or discretion - being sub rosa (under the rose). The initial rationale for this was the rose presented to Harpocrates, god of silence, by Eros as a reminder not to disclose his mother Aphrodite’s indiscreet comportment while being under the influence - sub vino (under the wine) – which I interpret as proclaiming love for one’s mother.

Symbolising beauty, the ancient Greeks identified the rose with Aphrodite, the Romans with Venus - goddesses of love in said civilisations.

Furthermore, what does the rose represent in a funeral ceremony if not warm thoughts and consideration for the deceased and their kith and kin? And what would a bouquet of roses imply for a budding relationship if not romantic intentions?

Colour can state many things, and the rose has several colours. The white rose became the mark of the Scholl siblings’ non-violent resistance against the Nazis in the 1940s. Despite that, it is the red rose which seems to be the prevailing one. And the driving symbolism is as strapping and stalwart as the message it carries at heart; it is for bread and culture...

Since society first became truly aware of class divides, and mass movements of the labour class started the ever-lasting struggle for greater equality, the red rose has been there to accompany them.

The red colour - the colour of socialism - asserts the struggle against material poverty, whereas the flower itself is emblematic of the exertion against spiritual distress. This is the dual struggle of the labour class movements of the past two centuries; for bread and culture. The rose is their symbol for love and solidarity.

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I am a believer in, and an adherent to, the symbolism I have attempted to describe here – incarnated in the rose. Hence the title of this particular post; hence the background of the page; hence the name of the blog itself; hence the motivation to write…

The range of topics and methods I might come across will be allowed to remain without any solid parameters. The decider will be – simply – what I feel like learning about; what seems interesting there and then.

The theme is slightly more concretised; this is my current platform onto which I intend to scribble and thus depict my reflections and thoughts following the ideals of solidarity and a belief that diversity and multiculturalism equal strength.

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This is for the rose…and its pure, pristine petals of all colours...