valentine's day and tulips

As it is now February, I'm allowed to start wearing Valentine's Day themed accessories and things. I just got my heart sneakers from my sister and I can't wait to wear them around. I'll be wearing my heart on my feet. Hee hee.

Anyway in the spirit of Valentine’s, I will share with you one of my favorite love legends:

‘Once upon a time, a youth was enamored of a beautiful girl. Rumor reached him that his beloved had died. Mounting his horse, he galloped off the edge of a rocky escarpment, meeting death instantly. As blood seeped from his wounds, bright red tulips sprang up all around. Thus, the red tulip became a declaration of love. A tulip offered by a young man to his beloved says, 'As the redness of this flower, I am on fire with love'

Unromantically enough, I first heard this fable from an ad for this sink from Kohler that I absolutely must have in my home someday when I have a house.

I also found reference to another legend that explains the origins of the tulip.

Oriental myth has it that the origin of the tulip came when a Persian youth named Ferhad, fell in love with a maiden whose name was Shirin. Ferhad went out into the desert to die from his broken heart after Shirin would not accept his love for her, and as he pined, each tear that fell into the sand turned into a beautiful tulip.

I’ve been in love with this fable since grade nine, I just adore the idea of someone being ‘on fire with love’. Mmmm.