GREENERY & PLANTS AT CHRISTMAS
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December 15, 2021Greenery and plants surround us at Christmas time. The most common of these are the mistletoe, holly, poinsettia, and the Christmas wreath. Each have their own interesting history:
Mistletoe. It was originally known by the Druids long, long ago as a plant which would drive away evil spirits. Later it had a reputation as a medicine.
It is most popular in England and America. It is only in these countries, and some parts of Austria, where the custom of kissing under the mistletoe is observed.
Holly. It was used by the Druids to adorn the halls where they had their feasts. Its bright waxy berries, and newly varnished-looking leaves, so fresh looking, made it then, as now, a suitable symbol of life at the season of winter sleep. The pagan tribes of Europe used to adorn their dwellings with holly when they celebrated the feast of Saturnalia, or turning of the sun. Many pagan customs later became Christianized, and so, the holly, which pagans used on their feasts in December, became associated with our feast of December – Christmas.
Poinsettia. A Mexican Legend tells us that long ago a young Mexican boy was very poor. He had no gifts to bring to the Christ child in the crib in the church. He approached the church, but was ashamed to go in. He knelt down outside and told God that he loved the Christ child, but had no gifts to give Him. Just then, he noticed, at his knees, a green plant with lovely blossoms of red. He broke off some of the flowers from the plant and proudly brought them into the church to place them at the feet of the Christ child.
The story goes on to tell that the plant spread over the land. It was first brought to the United States, from Mexico, by Joel Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, in 1836.
Christmas Wreaths. The wreath is a circle and symbolizes God's unending
eternity. The evergreen symbolizes God's unchangeableness and our immortality. The custom of displaying wreaths is of pagan origin. During the Saturnalia, (Saturn was the god of seed—sowing), the Romans had made wreaths and garlands from olive, laurel, and bay leaves to promote the rebirth of nature and vegetation. In about the 16th century, the Christians began to decorate their homes with wreaths and greenery.
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To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules.
And each must make, before life has flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
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