Here's a little lesson in floral symbolism. A while back, Dankku mentioned black roses on his blog, and it came up briefly again today. I recall him and I having a bit of a conversation about what the different colors of roses meant, and neither of us knowing if a black rose existed and what it would mean if it did. He discovered that a black rose was given to somebody who was going out to war but wasn’t expected to come back. It is also identified with hatred and death. The black rose also features occasionally in Goth subculture. In politics, it signifies anarchy, though it is rarely used for this purpose. The black rose is not natural, it is usually dyed to make it appear black. There are some varieties of red that are very dark, with an almost black appearance, however.

On a side note, one might wonder if the late, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave herself a black rose when she left Pakistan on her self-imposed exile. Given the instability of the country and her personal history in connection with it, perhaps it was rather "gutsy" for her to come back when she did.

So, the black rose is not a very positive symbol. I think I'll stick with red. And on that uplifting note, I wish you a Happy New Year. See you in 2008.