All this week I am posting in my Facebook group, Journeying With Jenny about my upcoming book, The Regal Pink, which releases on Friday. Please join me to read excerpts from the book, get some behind-the-scenes info, and enter into several giveaways. Today I am sharing some history about what a “pink” is.
WHAT IS A PINK?
A pink refers to a flower in the dianthus (latin for divine flower) family called the clove-pink, which is the ancestor of the modern carnation.
Once upon a time, these simple but jagged-edged, bright, five-petaled flowers were simply called pinks. They were used, of course, for their beauty but also in perfumes for their deep floral, clove-like fragrance.
LEGEND:
A Christian legend says that the flowers sprang up from Mary’s tears over Jesus’s plight on the cross.
HISTORY:
The name:
Carnations were mentioned in Greek literature 2,000 years ago. The term dianthus is derived from the Ancient Greek words for divine (“dios”) and flower (“anthos”). The name “carnation” is believed to come from the Latin corona-ae, a “wreath, garland, chaplet, crown”, as it was one of the flowers used in Greek and Roman ceremonial crowns, or possibly from the Latin caro (genitive carnis), “flesh”, which refers to the natural color of the flower.
COLOR MEANING:
The colors of carnation flowers have specific meanings. Pink blooms express motherly love and are a staple in Mother’s Day bouquets. Light red expresses admiration while dark red symbolizes deep love. White blossoms express devotion and wishes for good luck while yellow expresses disappointment and purple shows capriciousness.
THE COLOR:
The idea of “pink” as a color was named for the flowers rather than the other way around. In the eighteenth century, flowers were described as blush, pale red, rose, light red, flesh-colored– never pink.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH “THE REGAL PINK”?
Diana, the main character is a “pink” flower fairy and is transformed from her pink, petal-covered fairy-self into the human realm, to aid a boy named Daniel with an unusual gift. This comes directly from the original Grimm’s tale, The Pink.
I love carnations. I remember when I worked as a florist when we would open the delivery boxes of fresh flowers, the scent of the carnations was heavenly.
I know. I miss that so much.
I love your description, and how you broke it down from the color pink to the legend, the meaning, and more. I am enjoying your blogs so very much. Thank you Jennifer!
I am glad you found it interesting. Thanks so much for reading my thoughts!
I like the baby color pink carnations and the dark pinks carnations ❣️‼️
Hi, Kay. 😊 That’s a pretty combo!
Good morning, yes I love carnations. Right now I have 2 pink carnations plants and 2 red ones in my garden. Thank you for the information, I really enjoyed reading it and I learned from it also. Have a Great day my friend. God Bless you and your family.
How nice! I had some pink ones years ago, but something made them die. I have been wanting to get some new ones.