Evergreens – Late Blooms

“Traditions have been replaced by lifestyles.” – Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Boredom — “Traditions have been replaced by lifestyles.”
– Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Boredom

Christmas is just around the corner. I was trying to figure out what it was that impelled me to go over to the nearby Garden Centre on Friday and buy some evergreen branches. I did hear that Santa was coming to town in Toronto on Sunday and that the Santa Claus Parade was taking place. But was it that? “No!” I had begun to feel Christmassy. Christmas had begun in my heart. “It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.” (W T Ellis)

As you can see from the above collage, Christmas is in the air on our apartment balcony. Like the familiar song says, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go.” To help you get in the Christmas spirit, I’m sharing some other Christmas images that I took at Plant World and Chapters.

The legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico. It tells of a girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo. They were very poor but always looked forward to the Christmas festival. Each year a large manger scene was set up in the village church, and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties. The two children loved Christmas but were always saddened because they had no money to buy presents. They especially wished that they could give something to the church for the Baby Jesus. But they had nothing. One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo set out for church to attend the service. On their way they picked some weeds growing along the roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the Baby Jesus in the manger scene. Of course they were teased by other children when they arrived with their gift, but they said nothing for they knew they had given what they could. Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers and so we see them today. (holiday-spot.com)

There’s no plant that brightens and brings joy at Christmas like the poinsettia. The legend of the poinsettia is fascinating too. I’ll be buying my poinsettias closer to Christmas to bring their special magic to the holiday season and to brighten our home.

"Christmas ... is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart." ( Freya Stark ) — “Christmas … is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.”
( Freya Stark )

Home is very important for most people and this is true especially at Christmas. In a popular bookstore the other day, there were magazines to cover any part of one’s holiday preparations. Whether that’s decorating, baking, dressing, or just getting ideas for Christmas, it’s all there. It was fun browsing through a few of them and realizing just how important “home” is at this special time of year. “For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.” ~W.J. Ronald Tucker

“The Christmas tree is a symbol of love, not money. There's a kind of glory to them when they're all lit up that exceeds anything all the money in the world could buy.” ― Andy Rooney, Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit — “The Christmas tree is a symbol of love, not money. There’s a kind of glory to them when they’re all lit up that exceeds anything all the money in the world could buy.”
― Andy Rooney, Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit

There’s something warm and friendly about having a Christmas tree to brighten one’s home and heart at Christmas-time. It’s really the pivotal element among all the items of decor one could have for the Season. The last three verses of the well-known Christmas tree song “Oh Christmas tree” describe well the sentiments I feel about the Christmas tree.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
You’ll ever be unchanging!
A symbol of goodwill and love
You’ll ever be unchanging

Each shining light
Each silver bell
No one alive spreads cheer so well

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,
You’ll ever be unchanging

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~ ~ Martin Luther King ~ — For in the true nature of things,
if we rightly consider,
every green tree is far more glorious
than if it were made of gold and silver. ~
~ Martin Luther King ~

Even though we bring the whole tree in, we still want to have the branches too. Decorating with evergreens in pots is very popular and beautiful both outside and inside. In the above collage, you can see some of the evergreen arrangements that were on sale at the garden centre. Here’s a little history for you: ” Evergreen trees and other plants that stay green all year round have always carried a special meaning for the various peoples of the world. Long before the advent of Christianity, peoples of many ancient civilizations decorated their homes with pine, spruce, and fir trees. In many of these cultures, it was believed that evergreen boughs, hung over doors and windows, would fend off witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and diseases. Ancient peoples who worshiped the sun as a god believed that winter came when the sun god became sick and weak. The celebration of the winter solstice marked the time when the sun god would begin to regain his strength and evergreens served as reminders of the coming spring when the land would be green again.” (blogcritics.org) I’m glad that we can enjoy our evergreens today without all the old beliefs.

“He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,...He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim ‘ere he drove out of sight, ‘Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.’” Clement Clarke Moore, 1779-1863 — “He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,…He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim ‘ere he drove out of sight, ‘Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.’” Clement Clarke Moore, 1779-1863

This old-fashioned carriage was part of the Christmas display at Plant World. I immediately thought of Santa Claus and how he would be coming to town. I thought of all the little boys and girls who were eagerly looking forward to seeing him. Christmas has a way of transporting us back in time and I thought too of the time when Santa Claus was such an important figure in my own life. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.” (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus) A little girl wondered long age if there was a Santa Claus and wrote a letter to a newspaper asking. That is part of the reply that she received. What would Christmas be without Santa Claus?

My first copies of Treasure Island and Huckleberry Finn still have some blue-spruce needles scattered in the pages. They smell of Christmas still.” ~ Charlton Heston (1923- ), American film actor. — My first copies of Treasure Island and Huckleberry Finn still have some blue-spruce needles scattered in the pages. They smell of Christmas still.”
~ Charlton Heston (1923- ), American film actor.

Children love stories and there are plenty out there to read to your little ones before Christmas. The above images were taken in Chapters/Indigo. If you’re having trouble deciding what to get your little boy or girl, I would suggest a nice book or two. They don’t have to be books about Christmas – just ones they can enjoy long after Christmas.

Hope that you enjoyed the collages and Christmas tidbits and that the Christmas spirit is making it’s way into your heart too.

Home-made arrangements can be fun decorating projects.

Tag: Evergreens

A Holly, Jolly Christmas!