1.
Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
2.
Seal (emblem)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates as the seal impression. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the matrix is in intaglio. The design on the impression will reverse that of the matrix and this will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were carved in relief, called cameo in this context. The process is essentially that of a mould and these pendent seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached. Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as seal or L. S. to be the equivalent of, i. e. an equally effective substitute for. In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the study of seals is known as sigillography or sphragistics. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of importance in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used and these could be rolled along to create an impression on clay, and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck, many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings, including some with the names of kings, have been found, recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of stone and ivory. By the Middle Minoan age a new set for seal forms, motifs, hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring. These were a luxury art form and became keenly collected. His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great, who deposited it in a temple in Rome, engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century
3.
Martin Luther
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Martin Luther, O. S. A. was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and he strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences as he understood it to be, that freedom from Gods punishment for sin could be purchased with money. Luther proposed a discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His translation of the Bible into the vernacular made it accessible to the laity. It fostered the development of a version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches and his marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry. In two of his works, Luther expressed antagonistic views towards Jews, writing that Jewish homes and synagogues should be destroyed, their money confiscated. Condemned by virtually every Lutheran denomination, these statements and their influence on antisemitism have contributed to his controversial status, Martin Luther was born to Hans Luder and his wife Margarethe on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized as a Catholic the next morning on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours and his family moved to Mansfeld in 1484, where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council. He had several brothers and sisters, and is known to have close to one of them. Hans Luther was ambitious for himself and his family, and he was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then Magdeburg in 1497, where he attended a school operated by a lay group called the Brethren of the Common Life, the three schools focused on the so-called trivium, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell, in 1501, at the age of 19, he entered the University of Erfurt, which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse. He was made to wake at four every morning for what has been described as a day of rote learning and he received his masters degree in 1505. In accordance with his fathers wishes, Luther enrolled in law school at the university that year but dropped out almost immediately. Luther sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, philosophy proved to be unsatisfying, offering assurance about the use of reason but none about loving God, which to Luther was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, for Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation, he believed and he later attributed his decision to an event, on 2 July 1505, he was returning to university on horseback after a trip home
4.
John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
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Johann Frederick I, called Johann the Magnanimous, or St. Johann the Steadfast, was Elector of Saxony and Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany, Champion of the Reformation. Johann Frederick was the eldest son of Elector Johann by his first wife and his mother died fourteen days after his birth, on 12 July 1503. He received his education from George Spalatin, whom he highly esteemed during his whole life, Spalatin was Martin Luthers friend and advisor and thus, through Spalatins schooling, Johann developed a devotion to the teachings of Martin Luther. His knowledge of history was comprehensive, and his library, which extended over all sciences, was one of the largest in Germany, with vivid interest he observed the development of the reformatory movement. He eagerly read Luthers writings, urged the printing of the first complete edition of his works, at the Elector castle at Torgau, he constructed a chapel specifically designed to be a Lutheran place of worship and invited Martin Luther to deliver the inaugural sermon. His father introduced him into the political and diplomatic affairs of the time and he took an active part in the disturbances caused by the Pack affair, and Luther was grateful to him for his exertions, in spite of his youth, for the maintenance of peace. During the second diet of Speyer he temporarily assumed the reins of government in place of his father and he accompanied the latter to the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, signed with him the Augsburg Confession and was active in the proceedings. His attitude did not remain unnoticed, and won him the emperors dislike, in 1532, Johann Frederick succeeded his father as elector. In the beginning he reigned with his half-brother, John Ernest and he consolidated the Lutheran State Church by the institution of an electoral consistory and renewed the church visitation. At the Diet of Schmalkalden in 1537 the council was refused, and the elector treated the papal legate with open disregard and rejected the propositions of Dr. Held and his attitude became more and more stubborn and regardless of consequences, not to the advantage of the Protestant cause. In 1542 he expelled Duke Henry of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from his country to protect the Evangelical cities Goslar and Brunswick, New war-like entanglements hindered Charles V from interfering and by apparently yielding he succeeded in concealing his true intentions. The elector appeared personally at the diet of Speyer in 1544, the harmony of the emperor with the Evangelicals appeared never greater than at that time. John Frederick actually thought that peace had come and continued the reforms in his country. Even the growing discord among the allies did not disturb him, when the Schmalkaldic War broke out in 1546, he marched to the south at the head of his troops, but the unexpected invasion of his country by his cousin Duke Maurice compelled him to return. He succeeded in reconquering the larger part of his possessions and repelling Maurice, the Battle of Mühlberg,24 April 1547, went against him and dispersed his army. He received a wound to the left side of his face. He was taken prisoner by Charles V and sent into exile in Worms and he was never greater and more magnanimous than in the days of his captivity, as is evident from the correspondence with his children, his wife, and his councilors. Friends and foes were compelled to acknowledge his calm behavior, his unwavering faith, though offered several opportunities to be set free, if he would but compromise his faith and convictions, he steadfastly refused, and urged his sons to remain strong and faithful
5.
Coburg
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Coburg is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, until the revolution of 1918, it was one of the capitals of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Through successful dynastic policies, the princely family married into several of the royal families of Europe, most notably in the person of Prince Albert. As a result of close links with the royal houses of Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Coburg was frequently visited by the crowned heads of Europe. Coburg is also known as the location of Veste Coburg, one of Germanys largest castles, in 1530, Martin Luther lived there for six months during which he worked on translating the Bible into German. Today, Coburgs population is close to 41,500, since it was little damaged in World War II, Coburg retains many historic buildings, making it a popular tourist destination. Coburg lies about 90 kilometres south of Erfurt and about 100 kilometres north of Nuremberg on the river Itz and it is an urban district and is surrounded by the Landkreis Coburg. Coburg lies at the foot of the Thuringian Highland, on three sides it is surrounded by Thuringia. Until reunification in 1990 the border between Bavaria and Thuringia was also the inner German border, the origin of the name Coburg is unclear, the first element may be kuh, which would give a literal meaning of cow borough. Coburg initially referred to a property centred on the hill where Veste Coburg was later built and its oldest remains date to the 12th or 13th century. During the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 reformer Martin Luther spent six months at the castle while his lord, John, Elector of Saxony. Luther was forbidden to attend by the Elector, who feared that he would be imprisoned and burned as a heretic, while quartered at the castle Luther continued with his translation of the Bible into German. In 1547, the residence was moved from the Veste to a former monastery, rebuilt as a Renaissance palace. In 1596, Coburg was raised to the status of capital of one of the dynastys splintered Saxon-Thuringian territories, from 1699 to 1826, it was one of the two capitals of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and from 1826-1918 it was a capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Ernest Frederick, the fourth Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, moved his capital from Saalfeld to Coburg in 1764, Coburg then became capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and later of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In the early 19th century, the medieval fortifications were demolished and replaced by parks. The duke also started the collection of engravings that is today part of the Veste Coburg museum. Under his son, Ernest, the Schlossplatz with what is today the Landestheater Coburg was created and he also rebuilt the Ehrenburg in Gothic revival style
6.
Theology
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Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as a discipline, typically in universities, seminaries. Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity, the term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument to help understand, explain, test, critique, the English equivalent theology had evolved by 1362. Greek theologia was used with the discourse on god in the fourth century BC by Plato in The Republic, Book ii. Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of discourse, mythical, rational and civil. Theologos, closely related to theologia, appears once in some manuscripts, in the heading to the book of Revelation, apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy. The Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of study, dealing with the motionless. Boethius definition influenced medieval Latin usage, Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean a system of theoretical principles, an ideology. They suggest the term is appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently. Kalam. does not hold the place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for theology in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is appropriate, can only do so, he says, I take theology not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God, within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God and of the Atman. The Sanskrit word for the schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been active and highly significant for Christian. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law, the history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. Modern Western universities evolved from the institutions and cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
7.
Philip Melanchthon
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He stands next to Luther and Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism. Along with Luther, he is the founder of Lutheranism. Both rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, but not the belief that the body and blood of Christ are present with the elements of bread and wine in the Lords Supper. The Lutheran view of sacramental union contrasts with the understanding of the Roman Church that the bread and wine cease to be bread, Melanchthon made the distinction between law and gospel the central formula for Lutheran evangelical insight. By the law, he meant Gods requirements both in Old and New Testament, the meant the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He was born Philipp Schwartzerdt on 16 February 1497, at Bretten, near Karlsruhe and his birthplace, along with almost the whole city of Bretten, was burned in 1689 by French troops during the War of the Palatinate Succession. The towns Melanchthonhaus was built on its site in 1897, in 1507 he was sent to the Latin school at Pforzheim, where the rector, Georg Simler of Wimpfen, introduced him to the Latin and Greek poets and to Aristotle. He and a brother were brought to Pforzheim to live with his maternal grandmother, the next year he entered the University of Heidelberg, where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, and astronomy/astrology, and became known as a scholar of Greek. Denied the masters degree in 1512 on the grounds of his youth, he went to Tübingen, where he continued humanistic studies but also worked on jurisprudence, mathematics, while there he was also taught the technical aspects of astrology by Johannes Stöffler. After gaining a degree in 1516 he began to study theology. Under the influence of Reuchlin, Erasmus, and others, he convinced that true Christianity was something different from the scholastic theology as taught at the university. He became a conventor in the contubernium and instructed younger scholars and he also lectured on oratory, on Virgil and on Livy. His first publications were an edition of Terence and a Greek grammar and he studied the Scriptures, especially of Paul, and Evangelical doctrine. Attending the disputation of Leipzig as a spectator, he participated with his comments. After his views were attacked by Johann Eck, Melanchthon replied based on the authority of Scripture in his Defensio contra Johannem Eckium and he married Katharina Krapp, daughter of Wittenbergs mayor, on 25 November 1520. In the beginning of 1521 in his Didymi Faventini versus Thomam Placentinum pro M. Luthero oratio and he argued that Luther rejected only papal and ecclesiastical practises which were at variance with Scripture. But while Luther was absent at Wartburg Castle, during the disturbances caused by the Zwickau prophets, the appearance of Melanchthons Loci communes rerum theologicarum seu hypotyposes theologicae was of subsequent importance for Reformation. Melanchthon presented the new doctrine of Christianity under the form of a discussion of the thoughts of the Epistle to the Romans
8.
Trinity
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The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is three consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—as one God in three Divine Persons. The three persons are distinct, yet are one substance, essence or nature, in this context, a nature is what one is, whereas a person is who one is. Reflection, proclamation, and dialogue led to the formulation of the doctrine that was felt to correspond to the data in the Bible. The simplest outline of the doctrine was formulated in the 4th century, further elaboration continued in the succeeding centuries. Scripture contains neither the word Trinity, nor an expressly formulated doctrine of the Trinity, rather, according to the Christian theology, it bears witness to the activity of a God who can only be understood in Trinitarian terms. The doctrine did not take its shape until late in the fourth century. During the intervening period, various solutions, some more. Trinitarianism contrasts with nontrinitarian positions which include Binitarianism, Unitarianism, Oneness Pentecostalism or Modalism, the word trinity is derived from Latin trinitas, meaning the number three, a triad. This abstract noun is formed from the adjective trinus, as the word unitas is the noun formed from unus. The corresponding word in Greek is tριάς, meaning a set of three or the number three, the first recorded use of this Greek word in Christian theology was by Theophilus of Antioch in about 170. He wrote, In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man. The Ante-Nicene Fathers asserted Christs deity and spoke of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinitarians view these as elements of the codified doctrine. Ignatius of Antioch provides early support for the Trinity around 110, exhorting obedience to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit. Justin Martyr also writes, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the first of the early church fathers to be recorded using the word Trinity was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He defines the Trinity as God, His Word and His Wisdom in the context of a discussion of the first three days of creation, the first defence of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, St. Justin and Clement of Alexandra used the Trinity in their doxologies and St. Basil likewise, in the evening lighting of lamps. The highly allegorical exegesis of the Valentinian school inclined it to interpret the relevant scriptural passages as affirming a Divinity that, the Valentinian Gospel of Phillip, which dates to approximately the time of Tertullian, upholds the Trinitarian formula
9.
Rodgau
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Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach district, the current constituent communities’ history reaches back to the 8th century. Rodgau is part of the area known as the Rhein-Main-Gebiet in German. The fiftieth parallel of north latitude passes right through Puiseaux-Platz in Nieder-Roden, the town lies on the so-called Untermainebene, or Lower Main Plain, the northern outlying part of the Rhine rift. The flat land around Rodgau is set against hillier country in the nearby Spessart, Taunus, Vogelsberg, Odenwald and Bergstraße, the state boundary with neighbouring Bavaria runs only a few kilometres away, at the Main. The brook, the Rodau, runs for 15 km through the municipal area. Climatically the area is among Germany’s mildest and least rainy areas, Rodgau’s Stadtteile are Weiskirchen, Hainhausen, Jügesheim, Dudenhofen and Nieder-Roden with its own Ortsteil of Rollwald. The greater community was granted town rights on 15 September 1979, the old cropfield name Rodgau, like Bachgau and Kinziggau belonging to the Maingau, gave the town its name. The original communities, though, have existed for hundreds of years, today, Rodgau has 45,236 inhabitants, of whom 22,120 are male and 23,116 female. Foreigners from 52 different nations account for 4,471 inhabitants and those who have lived in Rodgau longer than ten years account for 64. 6% of the population. Around Saint Peter’s Church arose the settlement of Wichenkirchen in Frankish times as a thorpe and it had its first documentary mention in 1287 in the Seligenstadt Monastery’s accord with the Auheimer Mark. Weiskirchen was at this time Mother Church to the villages of Jügesheim, with this, Weiskirchen formed an ecclesiastical and economic hub in the Rodgau. When the Auheimer Mark was divided up in 1786, Weiskirchen received a share of the forest, after Secularization in 1803, the Amt of Steinheim along with Weiskirchen passed to Hesse. In 1896 the Rodgaubahn with a station in Weiskirchen opened. In the course of the 19th century, Weiskirchen shifted from a village to a worker’s community. Of the once well known village with its timber-frame houses very little is left, during National Socialist times, the small Jewish community was driven out. In March 2005, the small, restored former synagogue was reopened as a memorial. In 1576, Weiskirchen had 37 households, in 1681,111 inhabitants lived in 26 households
10.
Rose (symbolism)
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The rose has long been used as symbols. Rose means pink or red in a variety of languages, the rose was an icon of veneration in the pre-Christian era, and was used in ancient Rome to symbolize devotion to the goddess Venus. Following the Christianization of Rome under the emperor Constantine, the rose became identified with the Virgin Mary, the rose symbol eventually led to the creation of the rosary and other devotional prayers in Christianity. The cultivation of gardens, in which the rose has often held pride of place, has a long history in Iran. In the lyric ghazal, it is the beauty of the rose that provokes the longing song of the nightingale - an image prominent, for example, in the poems of Hafez. Other well-known examples of symbolism in Sufism include, The Sufi master Jilani is known as the Rose of Baghdad and his order. Two prominent books aligned with Sufism are The Rose Garden by Saadi, catalonians have traditionally celebrated Saint Georges Day —which commemorates Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia—as the dia dels enamorats, on which lovers exchange blood-red roses. The Tudor dynasty created the Tudor rose, which united both the white and the red roses, a symbolism dramatized by Shakespeare in his play Richard III. The traditional ballad The Rose of England recounts the seizure of the crown by Earl of Richmond, the England national rugby union team and Rugby Football Union adopted the red rose as their symbol in 1871, and the rose has appeared on players kit ever since. In 1986, the rose was adopted as the floral emblem of the United States. It is the flower of four U. S. states. North Dakota - The wild prairie rose was adopted as the state flower of North Dakota in 1907. The colors of the rose had previously adopted by the first graduating class of the University of North Dakota in 1889. Georgia - the Cherokee rose was adopted as the official floral emblem in 1916. New York - In 1955, the state adopted the rose as the state flower, portland, Oregon has counted City of Roses among its nicknames since 1888, and has held an annual Rose Festival since 1905. The city is known for its International Rose Test Garden. Pasadena, California—also nicknamed the City of Roses—has held the annual Tournament of Roses Parade since 1890, the red rose is also the official symbol for the Democratic Socialists of America. In 1930, Rosa acicularis was adopted as the provincial flower of the Canadian province of Alberta
Golden Luther rose in the coat of arms of Arriach village
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