As the daylight recedes, I continue to make a bee-line for my coveralls and a little time in the garden after putting in a day of work in education. It feels good just to be outside and also to get more tasks accomplished – all bulbs are in the ground as of this weekend; more perennials need trimming and leaves raking to be that more ahead of things come spring.
I look at the silhouette of trees now bare noting an occasional bird’s nest against the dying light…I recall the days of summer, the greenness, the blooms that are now just a frazzled dry stub and I fast forward to next year’s growing season draped in green again. I recently found myself taking strands of bamboo from a hedge where my rowing team parks our boat; perhaps for the same reason that people bring plants indoors at this time of year – to remind ourselves that the renewal will come. Some of the lore behind Yuletide greenery comes from that same idea.
Take mistletoe. While you’re puckering up under it for a little Yuletide kiss, consider this: The Druids believed the “heal-all” sacred and hung it in the doorway to repel evil spirits during the darkest time of the year. He who had the plant hanging over his doorway enjoyed good health and fortune in the coming year.
Exchanging a “kiss of peace” under the mistletoe was a popular practice in Scandinavia, where it was said the goddess of love would kiss all who stood under its boughs. In Victorian times each kiss required plucking a white berry, so presumably when the last berry was picked you were out of luck.
Despite its romantic association, mistletoe (Viscum album) is actually a parasitic plant that grows into tree branches depleting moisture and nutrients. Medicinally it’s been used to treat convulsions, heart conditions and cancer.
Children in southern France are known to put their slippers out on Christmas Eve in the hope that Pere Noel will fill them with treats – another version of hanging stockings by the fireplace.
Holly had many associations in legend. For the Romans it symbolized friendship and goodwill and was exchanged during the midwinter feast, Saturnalia. The ancient Chinese brought in the New Year with it. In Old England, holly was said to provide a safe haven for fairies and elves. For Native Americans it stood for eternal life and courage. European legend has it that a sprig of holly hanging on the bedpost brings sweet dreams.
Holly is the trademark plant for Christmas, if ever there was one. Its scarlet berries and cutout leaves combine well with any green for wreaths, centerpieces and swags. A holly tree in snow is the quintessence of Christmas. Most holly plants are easy to grow and will live for centuries. But remember that most evergreen varieties require companionship for pollination.
In Dutch fairy tales, it snows when “Holle, the Queen of Winter, shakes out of her mattress, causing the feathers to fall.
Bringing evergreens into the home is actually an ancient practice dating back to Mesopotamian times. People brought branches into their homes to give warmth and to dispel evil spirits. Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning. Evergreen boughs stood for everlasting life, recalling the green plants that would grow again when the summer returned.
This was done at the time of the winter solstice, which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere (usually around Dec. 21). The practice became Christianized around the 17th century, when St. Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to explain the Holy Trinity.
In Italy, children wait for the arrival of la befana, a good witch who is said to ride down the chimneys on her broomstick to deliver gifts.
The first decorated Christmas tree was at Riga in Latvia in 1510. By the mid-16th century, Christmas markets were in place in German towns, selling gifts, food and ornamentation. The Georgian kings brought the first trees to England, but the public didn’t adopt the practice until the more popular Queen Victoria took the throne. She and husband Prince Albert were pictured with their children around a Christmas tree in the Illustrated London News in 1846 and from then on it enjoyed wide use.
Hessian troops stationed here during the War of Independence as well as immigrants were responsible for bringing Christmas trees to America. By 1850 the Christmas tree had become fashionable in the Eastern states and the first retail lots were opened. The first national tree was lit in 1923 by President Calvin Coolidge on the White House lawn.The British custom of breaking open Christmas crackers (a practice we follow in our family) is inseparable from the festivities of Christmas, Invented in 1847 by Thomas Smith, a confectioner and stationary goods merchant,
The Seaside Gardener
By Laura McLean