13. ‘Roses are Red’ was first published as a poem at the end of the 18th century and has been popular ever since
The very first instance of the cliched Valentine’s Day poem ‘Roses are red’ being used is in an 18th-century nursery rhyme. Entitled Gammer Gurton’s Garland, the poem has been reproduced countless times since it first appeared in print back in 1784. While it’s been adapted and tweaked many times over, the original went: “The rose is red, the violet’s blue, The honey’s sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine. The lot was cast and then I drew, And Fortune said it should be you.”
