The Tradition of the Christmas WreathCenturies ago, long before the birth of Christ, the wreath was always a part of festive processions.The evergreen wreath has always been a Christian emblem of eternal life and God's faithfulness to all humanity because of its hardiness and ability to withstand the cold winter temperatures. An advent wreath is a ring or set of four candles, usually made with evergreen cuttings and used for household devotion by some Christians during the season of Advent, or the holy season for the Christian church. Many churches illuminate these candles in succession through the four weeks leading up to Christmas as part of their Sunday services. Typically, three of the candles are violet-colored, and one is rose-colored, but some choose to use all purple or all blue candles. When used in household devotion, one candle is lit on the first evening of Advent, which falls on a Saturday. Each Saturday thereafter during Advent another candle is lit. Some wreaths have a large white candle in the center which is lit on Christmas Day to signify Christ's birth. The first Advent wreath was invented by Johann Hinrich Wichern; a Protestant parson in Hamburg, Germany in the 1830's and 1840's and was in charge of an orphanage. The children of the orphanage made a wooden ring and affixed red and white candles on one side of it. During each service of daily prayer a child would light one candle, until on Christmas Eve all of them would be illuminated. It is thought that children liked this ring so much that they decorated it with evergreen twigs, mainly from fir trees. Later the number of candles was reduced to the four main ones. The tradition of hanging a Christmas wreath took a while to catch on in Germany. When German immigrants came to America, they brought this old tradition with them, and now it's a household tradition for many families to have a wreath made from evergreen hanging upon the front door of their home. Steal a Kiss and Snag a BerryThe tradition of the mistletoe dates back to ancient history and across many cultures. Ancient druids viewed it as a symbol of peace, goodwill and love. Warring tribes chancing across it stopped their battles and observed a temporary truce, and people began displaying it in the doorways of their homes as a sign of peace.The Druids also believed it to have the power to provide fertility. There are some cultures who think it guarded them against witches and witchcraft, and other cultures believed it to have medicinal and healing properties and used it to treat a variety of illnesses. But mistletoe's roots run deep in the area of love. In some cultures, most notably in Europe, if you kiss a woman under the mistletoe sprig, it is considered a marriage proposal. But its lore has evolved into something a bit more lighthearted. According to most current day traditions, a young woman simply stands under the mistletoe and awaits her sweetheart's kiss. Traditional legend dictates however that for each kiss that's stolen from underneath the mistletoe a berry must be removed from the sprig, and if the berries are gone then so are the kisses. It is believed that an unmarried woman not kissed under the mistletoe will remain single for another year. Therefore, if you're hanging mistletoe in your home, be sure to get a large enough bunch for the kisses to last! Few people realize however that mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant with thick, leathery, poisonous leaves and white berries that lives on trees. One French tradition says that the reason mistletoe is poisonous is because it was growing on a tree that was used to make the cross that Jesus was crucified on. Because of this, it was cursed and denied a place to live and grow on earth, forever to be a parasite. Mistletoe has been Oklahoma's state flower and oldest state symbol, adopted in 1893. Pretty Poinsettias are Perfect for Holiday DecoratingThe poinsettia, also known as the Mexican flame leaf or Christmas star, is a sub-tropical plant known for its striking red displays at Christmas time. It's often used as a floral Christmas decoration because of its festive colors, and what many think of as the plants petals are actually large leaves.Poinsettias are native to southern Mexico and Central America. They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant in the U.S. in 1825. Poinsett was so impressed with the brilliant red color of the plant that he sent some home from Mexico to South Carolina, where they thrived in his greenhouse. Their leaves are thought to look much like the flaming Star of Bethlehem. In the United States they can be found out in the wild in both Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Mexican legend tells how the poinsettia came to be a Christmas symbol. The story states that a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God's eyes. When the child brought the weeds to the church they bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle. In the United States and perhaps elsewhere, there is a common misconception that poinsettias are toxic. This misconception was spread by a 1919 urban legend of a two-year-old child in Hawaii dying after consuming a poinsettia leaf. While it is true that the plant is not very toxic, those sensitive to latex may suffer an allergic reaction and it is therefore not advisable to bring the plants into the home of sensitive individuals. If eaten, poinsettias may cause diarrhea and vomiting in animals and humans. It's said that the taste of a poinsettia leaf is so bitter that it's highly unlikely that either a human or animal could bear the taste long enough to eat enough of the plant to be poisonous. Deck the Halls with Boughs of HollyIn many Western cultures, holly is a traditional Christmas decoration, used especially in wreaths. Many of the hollies are highly decorative, and it's believed that it and the green ivy that is usually used alongside it in decorating is why the colors red and green have come to be representative of Christmas.The pagan Druids are believed to have been the first to take holly to heart. They viewed holly as a sacred plant, designed to keep the earth beautiful even in the harshest of conditions. When they ventured into the forest to witness the priests cut their sacred mistletoe, they wore sprigs of holly in their hair. Romans gave one another holly wreaths and carried them about, decorating images of Saturn with it during their Saturnalia festival. Centuries later, in December, while other Romans continued their pagan worship, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus. To avoid persecution from the Romans however, they decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly lost its pagan association, then becoming a symbol of Christmas. In West England it is said sprigs of holly around a young girl's bed on Christmas Eve are suppose to keep away mischievous little goblins. In Germany, a piece that has been used in church decorations is regarded as a charm against lightning. In England, British farmers put sprigs of holly on their beehives. On the first Christmas, they believed, the bees hummed in honor of the Christ Child. Other beliefs included putting a sprig of holly on the bedpost to bring sweet dreams and making a tonic from holly to cure a cough, and to this day, families are still decking their halls with boughs of holly during the holiday season as a result. Though mildly toxic to humans, holly berries are a very important food source for numerous species of birds, and also are eaten by other wild animals. After being frozen or frosted several times during the cold winter months, the berries soften and become edible. During winter storms, birds often take refuge in hollies, which provide shelter. Their spiny leaves also provide protection from predators. . | ||||||
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