Christmas Cactus, Holly & Mistletoe
Christmas Cactus: Longevity is their main claim to fame - lasting decades they can be passed down through the generations and are a beautiful gift. Or make paper ones....
Green and red, their leaves and flowers, are the colours of Christmas.
Green for everlasting life, reminding us of the evergreens which bring their green-ness into the washed out colour of winter. But it was the red berries and waxy green leaves of the holly, decorating homes for centuries, that really represented the season. And the cactus is a modern interpretation of that, aided by the red Santa of Coca Cola adverts!
Prayer:
Blessed Christmas plants, red, white and green, we find peace in your beauty in the starkness of the short days and long nights. We remember yesterday, and days before, when the sun shone and the vibrant plants of the earth were abundant in their growth. With an open mind and heart for today, enhanced by your presence, we are blessed by your presence, by those around us, the beauty in others, and the beauty in ourselves.
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Centre:
Red holly berries and white mistletoe may decorate the Yule Log. On
the shortest, darkest day of the year, after the sun has set put out the
lantern candles and stand in the darkness of night. Then light the fire
encouraging the flames into life and reminding us again of the return
of the light.
Yuletide is a time to give thanks for the year past, release what no longer serves and welcome in new beginnings. Using paper to carry your intentions, breathe into the symbolic holly concentrating on what we needed to release, then send your message out to the Universe by burning the paper in the fire.
House Blesssing:
Another Cactus that is remotely linked to Christmas via the shepherds
is Buachaill a 'tighe, that translates from Irish as Sempervivum
tectorum - the House Leek.
Buachaill an tighe (Google translates as the Shepherd of the House) is a cactus like plant which used to be planted on the slope of the gable. This plant is not to be found wild in this part of the country and is propagated by getting a portion from an established plant. It is considered an antidote against the wiles of the fairies. Shepherd of the House
It is also said the protect the house from fire.
A house blessing seems appropriate as we welcome the returning light after WInter Solstice. It might include opening all east facing doors and windows, receiving and flowing into our homes the fresh lively energy of the rising sun. Lighting candles, saying appropriate words:
May peace and joy inhabit every room in this house and fill this home with love. May those that live here and guests that pass through find rest, nurture and protection.
| The holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown, Of all the trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown. The rising of the sun And the running of the deer, The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir. | The Snowflakes feed the soil The soil feeds the seed The seed feeds the flower Who brings the Spring. Kerrensdottir |
Decorating the House:
Holly can be used to nestle the Advent Candles. The circular shape and evergreens represent the unbroken continuity of the seasonal wheel of eternal life and for Christians, the candles symbolize Jesus' light, blessing our lives. Or they can recall the seasonal change and returning light of the sun.
Hanging a wreath on your door welcomes the energies and spirit of Christmas. It is good to hang it in the centre of the doorway. Homes are brightened with gay decorations of holly and mistletoe and you can add a large Christmas candle, place it in the window, to welcome visitors or any who should happen to pass by.
The decorated home can become a sacred space prepared to allow participants to step out of the mundane world into the extraordinary. It is a space in which meaningful acts can be carried out to express things in a way in which each act is packed full of the power of intent.
At the doorway an archway of Holly and Oak remind us of the seasons. These archetypal trees are both in their most extreme states of being. The Oak (summer king of the forest) seems dead while the Holly (Winter king of the forest) is resplendent with life and fruit. However this is the turning point for both where the Holly will relinquish its authority to the Oak and the Oak will start to accrue its powers for summer. An endless swirling dance repeated at summer solstice where the roles are reversed.
Put up on Christmas Eve and taken down after Little Christmas Day (6th January), it is said that the holly and ivy used to decorate the walls should be burned.
Kissing under the mistletoe:
The white berries mature at Christmas-time while the plant retains waxy green leaves amongst the skeletal branches of trees.
Just as love sometimes has a sting so the mistletoe is actually poisonous to humans. It contains a toxic substance called phoratoxin, which is particularly concentrated in the leaves. If you're decorating with it, keep it away from pets and children.
One of the many customs at Christmas is putting up the mistletoe in the middle of the ceiling. Every year we put up a bit of mistletoe and decorate it with silver and other coloured papers. If anyone who comes into the house walks under the mistletoe the girls in the house kiss him, it is great fun watching them coming in and walking under it. mistletoe and coloured ribbons
There is a Scandanavian legend that the goddess Frigg's son, Baldur,
was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. Her tears turned to the white
berries, thus symbolizing her love for her son. After his death she
vowed that mistletoe would kiss anyone who passed beneath, so long as it
was never again used as a weapon.
We can also remember the traditional gods and goddesses:
Santa Claus who shares characteristics with - the Holly King, Celtic God of the dying year, Father Ice, a Russian winter God, Odin, Scandinavian all father who rides on an 8 legged horse, Great Mother, who gave birth to the sun child, Ops who is the Roman goddess of plenty, wife of Saturn, Holda, the earth goddess of good fortune.
Feed the Birds:
Mistletoe berries provide a winter feast for birds. An Anglo Saxon word it translates as ‘dung on a stick’ – the branches where it grows can become covered in bird poo! The mistle thrush particularly enjoys the sticky berries. But they stick to their beaks, and to remove the gluey mess after eating, the bird wipes it's beak on the branch thus transferring the seeds to the tree.
Having used the holly tree for summer nests, birds, especially
thrushes and blackbirds, enjoy the red berries late into the winter.
Bird feeders are easily obtained but you may like to just hang some mistletoe in a large bush or tree, and drape sprigs of holly, full of berries, where the robins, thrushes and other birds can feed from them.
