Christmas flowers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christmas Flowers are the popular flowers used during the festive season of Christmas. Flowers form a major part of the Christmas decoration. Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Holly, Christmas Rose, Ivy, Mistletoe, etc., add color to the festive decoration.
The ancient Aztecs (the Mexican Indians) prized the Poinsettia as a symbol of purity. Centuries later, Mexico's early Christians adopted the Poinsettia as their prized Christmas Eve flower. The Mexican Poinsettia, known as the Christmas Flower in North America, is used in most Christmas decorations, owing to its bright red color and its blooming season coinciding with the Christmas holiday season.
Christmas Cactus, also known as Orchid Cactus, is a great gift idea on Christmas eve when in full bloom. Pendulous stems of Christmas cactus make it a great choice for hanging baskets.
Christmas Rose is regarded as a true Christmas flower. Christmas Rose (Serissa) is also known as the Snow Rose or Winter Rose. Christmas Rose blooms during the winter in the mountains of Central Europe.
In New Zealand, the pohutukawa tree is often associated with Christmas, as its bright red flowers usually appear in December.
Like most of the other Christmas Flowers, ivy flowers symbolize eternity and resurrection. The Ivy flower has been associated with the Egyptian God, Osiris, and the Greco-Roman god, Attis; both of whom were resurrected from the dead.
Mistletoe is a Christmas flower whose origin dates back to the Pagans. Druid priests used this Christmas flower two hundred years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations.
