Carnations are often worn on special occasions, especially Mother’s Day and weddings.
They were known as "Jove's Flower" in ancient Rome as a tribute to one of their beloved gods.
In Korea, children give Carnation to their parents on Parents Day (not seperated Mother's Day and Father's Day, but they have Parents day on May 8) and to their teachers on Teacher's Day (May 15), as Carnation has the meaning of 'admiration', 'love'.
The carnation is also the symbol of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution.
For the most part, carnations express love, fascination, and distinction.
Light red carnations represent admiration, while dark red denote deep love and affection. White carnations indicate pure love and good luck; striped symbolize a regret that a love cannot be shared. Green carnations are for St. Patrick's Day; purple carnations indicate capriciousness.
Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to a Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross.
The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell. Thus the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love, and in 1907 was chosen by Ann Jarvis as the emblem of Mother's Day, now observed in the United States and Canada on the second Sunday in May.
<Reference - Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnation>
