Throughout ancient Christendom, the red rose symbolizes the blood and agony of the crucifixion of Jesus. In ancient Persian mythology, a nightingale's self-inflicted breast wound turns a white rose red, changing colors because of the bird's egocentricity. Pink roses symbolize grace and gentility in modern rose vocabulary. The pink rose also represents pain, suffering and death in Roman mythology when Apollo turns Rhodanthe into a rose after she unsuccessfully tries to unseat Diana, his sister, as the goddess of the hunt and the protectress of women. The various tones of pink can mean different things, too.
White roses symbolize reverence and humility.
In medieval Christian Europe, Mary is represented by a white rose as a symbol of her purity. In Wales, white roses represent innocence and silence, and are often placed on the grave of a young child. In some native American cultures, the white rose symbolizes security and happiness and, hence, is traditionally worn at weddings. Red and white roses, arranged together or white roses edged in red, speak of unity. The Tudor Rose, a graphic design created by King Henry VII in 1485, is a red rose laid atop a white - symbolizing the unification of the Houses of York and Lancaster and thus ending the War of Roses.