23. A Swedish King is to thank for our tradition of giving flowers to a loved one on Valentine’s Day
At the end of the 17th century, King Charles XII paid a royal visit to Persia. Whilst there, the monarch was schooled in the ‘language of flowers’ – that is, the Persian tradition of attaching different meanings to certain types of flowers and then using them to send messages. Charles brought this back to Europe. Over the course of the 18th century, lists of different flowers and their meanings were published across Europe – and so, the tradition of giving them as romantic gifts were born.
