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| Christmas Carnivals » Christmas Plants » Pagan Origin of Christmas Plants |
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Pagan Origin of Christmas Plants |
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Exploring the pagan origin of Christmas Plants can get really interesting as it brings to the forefront some of the most mind bogging dilemmas in history and throws light on some of the most complex questions of our times. Christmas Plants have a very long lineage and the most interesting feature is that,
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recent researches have revealed that Christmas and the whole lot of traditions related to it have been in some form or the other, been borrowed from the pre-existing rituals and customs that were prevalent during the time.
Another amazing fact is that, most of the puritans were quite against the holding of Christmas Day, as they considered it as a pagan holiday. Recent researches reveal that most of the holiday traditions of the Christians were borrowed from multiple sects and the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with garlands and wreaths were borrowed from the Roman tradition of placing candles on the live trees during the celebration of Saturnalia. The practice of kissing under the mistletoe (which was regarded as a sacred tree, symbolic of peace and love and often referred to as the " Golden Bough") is purely Celtic Druid in origin. The Celtics are known to have offered mistletoe to the sun god during the summer and winter solstice respectively and they were looked upon as the "seat of life" of the sacred oak besides being referred to as the emanation of the sun's fire.
A sweet story revolves around Ivy and Holly. Generally refereed to as mates, the evergreen Holly with its masculine pricking leaves, white flowers, and red berries represents the male while the delicate Ivy with its sweet charm is attributive of the feminine touch. They in conjunction with the evergreen fir, yew, and laurel are according to the Grecian and Roman traditions regarded as the symbols of fertility and growth. The Scandinavian solstice traditions have also been incorporated in the Christian rituals and their ancient festival of Yuletide finds stray references in many of the Christian texts. The ritual of the Yule log that commenced the concept of the twelve days of Christmas is a case in pointer to this fact. Last but not the least, all these rituals and practices owed their origin to the tree worship practiced by the ancients as attested by The Book of Christmas Folklore and excerpts from the book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop.
For more details on Pagan Origin of Christmas Plants log on to Christmas Carnivals.
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