Seven Days to Christmas: When Nature Does the Decorating

From “Winter” by Robert Merrill Bartlett in Prayers and Poems for Christmas, edited by Nancy J. Skarmeas:

As the snow falls gently
against my window, I give thanks,
O divine Spirit, for the cycle
of the seasons and the ever-changing
beauty of the universe….

A mantle of purity is spread over this drab earth,
and the evergreens bow humbly
in their vestments of white. The noises
of men cease; a new stillness envelopes
the world, and Thy voice speaks to me
through the elements….

As I look upon this beauty, I think
of Thee as the source from which it all comes.
Give me faith to believe that the order
which sustains the ever-varying pageantry
of nature will also uphold me….

From “Holly and Ivy” in Christmas: A Short History from Solstice to Santa by Andy Thomas:

“The carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy,’ the words of which started to appear in the early 1800s, solidifies the Christian connotations of these plants, with the holly representing Christ’s crown of thorns and the ivy representing the Virgin Mary. But in medieval Europe, holly and ivy, along with other evergreens (often rosemary), were seen as especially sacred, or at least they were signs of good luck long before the famous carol came along.

“As vegetation that was boldly flourishing in the cold, dark time of the year, when so much else was stark and dormant, this kind of foliage, when brought into the home, offered hope to the winter weary in the Northern Hemisphere. It reminded people that if nature could push through the harsh times and thrive again, so could they. In another echo back to Roman times, when wreaths were used as signs of victory and status, the plants would often be fashioned into circles by medieval families, decorated, and hung on doors or laid on tables.”

From “The Seven Poor Travelers” in A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens:

“[The] mists began to rise in the most beautiful manner, and the sun to shine; and as I went on through the bracing air, seeing the hoar-frost sparkle everywhere, I felt as if all Nature shared in the joy of the great Birthday….”

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