Many of us like to celebrate Christmas by bringing all kinds of plants into our homes that would usually stay outside for the rest of the year. It’s a sustainable and low cost way to have beautiful, seasonal decorations for the holidays.
From trees to wreaths and that all important bunch of mistletoe, I’ll try to provide a bit of background that explains how these plants became part of our festive traditions and wider Christmas history. Many originated from the pagan celebration of the winter solstice when evergreens symbolised life and the hopefulness that spring would bring new life and growth. Some were added in the Victorian era and others are much more recent additions that have been promoted purely commercially but are still loved and enjoyed at this time of year.
Trees
Evergreen trees were used in pagan ceremonies at the winter solstice and, as with all evergreens, symbolised hope and certainty that the coming spring would bring new life.
We know that the first Christmas tree was brought to the UK by King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, in 1800. She was born in Germany and wanted to introduce a familiar tradition to her new home. Much later in around 1840 Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria also brought some Norwegian spruce from his German homeland. As the tradition to decorate the trees continued in the royal household, the press at the time began to publish details of the new tree each year and they gained popularity among the wealthier classes. The trees would take pride of place inside people’s homes and be decorated with candles, fruits and confectionery and have Christmas gifts placed under them.
During the Second World War, the King of Norway was exiled in London while his country was occupied and as a thank you to the people of London, in 1947 he sent a huge Christmas tree which was placed in Trafalgar Square and this tradition continues today.
Holly
The Ilex is another plant that has its roots in pagan times. The Druids decorated their homes with holly to help remember that life goes on during the dark and miserable winter months. There were beliefs that it offered protection and good luck to the family while also keeping evil at bay.
The early Christians did similar, with the leaves representing the crown of thorns that Jesus wore at his crucifixion and the red berries, his blood.
In the 1900s, the Victorians went on to make the holly imagery popular on religious Christmas cards and used it to make wreaths or welcome rings to hang on the front door, adding pine cones, ivy and ribbons for decoration and cheer, which has cemented its place in Christmas tradition to this day.
Holly is a great shrub to grow if you have the space, it comes in lots of different variations so adds winter cheer, it offers free, sustainable festive decorating material and female plants provide nutritious berries for the birds when not much else is available.
Ivy
Ivy hasn’t always been as universally popular as holly. It was grown by the Romans to celebrate merriment and scorned by Christians as it was associated with drunkenness.
It later became known for having magical powers and was grown up the walls of homes to protect the inhabitants from witches. Farmers were known to feed a sprig of ivy to cows on Christmas Day to ward off evil.
Ivy increased in popularity in Victorian times when it was used along with holly to make decorative garlands and wreaths.
Today, ivy makes a great natural habitat for wildlife and an additional free, sustainable source of festive decorating material for us.
Mistletoe
Another pagan tradition, and the Druids believed mistletoe to be a holy plant with healing properties and the ability to ward off evil.
It is thought that in Norse mythology a branch of mistletoe was used to kill the god of peace Balder and it was then handed over to the goddess of love so kissing under it was expected. It was hung in doorways to kiss beneath in order to show friendship to visitors. Later, in the 1500s the Tudors made kissing boughs which were balls made from crossed hoops and decorated with evergreen material, these too were hung over doorways to welcome guests.
It may have been the Georgians who started the ‘kissing under the mistletoe’ tradition when in the mid-1700s they popularised them and added decorations such as fruit, ribbons and trinkets and played a game whereby a man could take a berry off the bough and then kiss a lady on the cheek, when all the berries had gone no more kisses were allowed.
Bay and Rosemary
Both are evergreen herbs which were originally used at pagan celebrations. Later, in the Middle Ages, the herbs were scattered on the bare floors of homes to scent the air and promote health and wellbeing. Both were associated with festivities and rosemary in particular, with remembrance.
At Christmas time now, we are much more likely to associate these herbs with cooking the Christmas lunch or adding a fragranced decoration to a wreath, garland or table setting.
Poinsettia
These are a type of Euphorbia (pulcherrima) native to areas in South and Central America and originated from Mexico. A man called Joel Poinsett after whom they’re named, saw them growing in the wild while on his travels in the 1800’s and being so impressed by their vibrant colours, took some back to the USA where after further growing and distribution developments, they became widely sold.
What we think of as the red flowers are actually not at all but leaf bracts instead. They are grown especially to flower at Christmas and are notoriously difficult to grow on. If you want to try, you’ll need to replicate its growing conditions in the wild so make sure you buy a plant that has been stored at a constant temperature of around 15 degrees and keep it well protected on a cold journey home.
Christmas Cactus
Again, these are commercially grown and although the masses of colourful December flowers are attractive, have no traditional, historic link. They are long-lived, cheerful, fairly easy to care for and will flower again in subsequent years, if not quite in time for Christmas.
Amaryllis
The Hippeastrum has no Christmas history but growing or gifting one has become part of many people’s modern holiday traditions.
Red and green are dramatically seasonal and the classic white adds a touch of glamour to all decorative themes. They’re really easy to grow if you have a warm room and are a great project for children, you can find out how here Gifts to Grow for Christmas
Christmas Rose
Again, the Helleborus Niger has no traditional link to Christmas, other than its very seasonal name and it is also not a rose but it is one of the few plants flowering in December and this white variety lights up the gloom on a winter’s day and provides a valuable food source for any insects that venture out on warmer days.
Cyclamen
These are cheerful and bright with the red and white varieties being especially popular for Christmas displays. They have no traditional link to the holidays but offer a long flowering period when in a cool-ish room and can be planted outside when they finish blooming, ready for next year.
And finally, a fun fact……
Coal
Although not a living plant, coal is made up over millions of years from plants that died and lay buried in the ground. Exposure to pressure and heat help the black, sedimentary rock to form.
The abundant mining and use of coal in the 1800s and early 1900s meant that most homes used it as a source of heating. It was very common until at least the mid-1900s for parents to tell their children that if they were naughty they would receive a piece of coal on Christmas Day instead of a small gift.
Merry Christmas to you all
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