Christmas is finally here.  The tree lights twinkle, holly and mistletoe are hanging and brilliant poinsettias brighten the room.

Have you ever wondered how these plants became part of Christmas?  Actually, most of these plant customs have roots predating Christianity by centuries. The Christmas tree is a quite recent tradition but has ancient beginnings. Almost universal amongst early pagans from England to China was a belief that evergreen trees represented eternal life.

In celebration of the winter solstice they decorated evergreen trees with colorful items such as apples and candles. The first recorded association of an evergreen tree with Christianity comes from Germany about 600 A.D.  The story involves a fir tree sprouting up amongst the roots of an old, cut down oak tree. The fir sapling represented the birth of Christ.

This remained just a local concept for many centuries.  However, along about 1500 the Germans took the next step. They started bringing fir trees indoors and decorating them with fruits, nuts and crackers for the children to eat on Christmas day. Then the tree was burned in a “Yule-fire” celebration. Hence the future Yule Tide logs. It wasn’t until the early 1800s the tradition broke out of Germany and spread across Europe, eventually becoming established in America about 1850. Of course, since then the significance of the fir tree has fallen by the wayside and we use any evergreen that suits our fancy, even the exceptionally hardy species, easyest plasticus..

Hanging of holly is an oldie, too. Druids worshiped holly, an evergreen, as a symbol of eternal life. Early Christians also tied holly into their beliefs. As the story goes, holly originally shed its leaves annually but one winter it grew leaves out of season to hide the Holy Family from King Herod’s soldiers. Holly remained evergreen ever after as a token of Christ’s gratitude.  Why else would it be named holly (holly – Holy, get it)?

The Church also promoted holly as a religious symbol.  Mistletoe was a long-standing pagan favorite so the Church forbade Christians from using it, suggesting holly be substituted. The sharply pointed leaves made a great substitute for the thorns in Christ’s crown and how perfect the bright red berries represented drops of his blood. To top things off it was said the Crucifixion Cross was made of holly wood. The English had a more practical reason for hanging holly at Christmas. For winter decoration they considered holly a manly plant and ivy a plant of womanhood. Whichever was brought into the house first would indicate who would rule the roost for that year. The hitch was it couldn’t be brought in before Christmas day (can you imagine that race?).

Poinsettia plants are the late comers of the Christmas plants. Wild poinsettias are a tall, leggy shrub native to Mexico. According to 16th century Mexican legend a young girl was too poor to afford a gift to celebrate Christ’s birth. Inspired by an angel, she collected weeds and placed them at the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds, becoming beautiful poinsettias.  Poinsettias remained mostly a Mexican tradition until the latter 1900s when a California poinsettia grower began an aggressive marketing campaign promoting them as Christmas decorations. Aided by appearances on the Tonight Show, the Bob Hope Show and others it obviously worked.

I couldn’t help but save the best for last, kissing under the mistletoe. It’s also one of the oldest. Here again, it all started with those rascal ancient pagans. They considered mistletoe the most magical and sacred of plants with powers such as poison protection, fire prevention, well being, fertility and, oh yea, an aphrodisiac (Note – do not consume as the berries can be fatally poisonous). Ancient Greeks were convinced kissing under mistletoe promoted fertility. The Scandinavians linked it with Christianity, calling it the plant of peace where on Christmas day warring spouses could kiss and make up. Must be Christmas preparations were as stressful back then as now.  18th century England broadened the scope, saying any young lady standing under mistletoe could not refuse a kiss, possibly opening the door to romance. American mistletoe is native to a number of coastal and southern states.
Carpe diem.

Larry Lyons writes a weekly outdoor column for Leader Publications. He can be reached at larrylyons@verizon.net