"the other Christmas flowers, ivy leaves symbolize eternity and resurrection. The ivy leaf has been associated with the ancient Egyptian god, Osiris, and the Greco-Roman god, Attis; both of whom were resurrected from the dead. Mistletoe is a Christmas plant whose origin is said to date back to the Pagans. Druid priests used this Christmas plant two hundred years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. A more modern tradition is to exchange kisses under a sprig of mistletoe. Christmas flowers Christmas flowers are the popular flowers used during the festive season of Christmas. In many nations, seasonal"
"""Phoradendron leucarpum"" is used in North America in lieu of the European ""Viscum album"".) According to an old Christmas custom, a man and a woman who meet under a hanging of mistletoe were obliged to kiss. The custom may be of Scandinavian origin. It was alluded to as common practice in 1808 and described in 1820 by American author Washington Irving in his ""The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."": In Germany, the Christmas tradition is that people who kiss under mistletoe will have an enduring love or are bound to marry one another. Every year, the UK town of"
"Christianity became widespread in Europe after the 3rd century AD, the religious or mystical respect for the mistletoe plant was integrated to an extent into the new religion. In some way that is not presently understood, this may have led to the widespread custom of kissing under the mistletoe plant during the Christmas season. The earliest documented case of kissing under the mistletoe dates from 16th century England, a custom that was apparently very popular at that time. Winston Graham reports a Cornish tradition that mistletoe was originally a fine tree from which the wood of the Cross was made,"
"Kissing bough A Kissing Bough is a traditional Christmas decoration in England. Also called a Christmas-bough or mistletoe-bough, it has the shape of a sphere or globe with a frame made of wire. The history of this tradition dates back hundreds of years in England during the early Middle Ages. It was customary in Europe to hang a small treetop, upside down as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. This was not only used at Christmas but was seen as a year-round symbol of heavenly blessings towards the members of each household. It was generally acceptable for visitors to do"
"for this promise: kiss the Blarney Stone, and ""you’ll never again be lost for words."" It is a Christmas custom for a couple who meet under a mistletoe to kiss. Mistletoe is commonly used as a Christmas decoration, though such use was rarely alluded to until the 18th century. The tradition has spread throughout the English-speaking world but is largely unknown in the rest of Europe. It was described in 1820 by American author Washington Irving in his ""The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."": Some claim that the origin of the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe goes back"
"the top half of the globe. Kissing bough A Kissing Bough is a traditional Christmas decoration in England. Also called a Christmas-bough or mistletoe-bough, it has the shape of a sphere or globe with a frame made of wire. The history of this tradition dates back hundreds of years in England during the early Middle Ages. It was customary in Europe to hang a small treetop, upside down as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. This was not only used at Christmas but was seen as a year-round symbol of heavenly blessings towards the members of each household. It was"
"from tropical regions of Asia, cultivated ""Serissa"" often blooms during the winter. On the occasion of Christmas Eve, it is traditional for young women in North America to exchange specially designed Christmas roses with each other resembling their spirit of fraternity. Another plant known as Christmas rose is Helleborus niger. In New Zealand, the pōhutukawa tree is often associated with Christmas, as its bright red flowers usually appear in December. Holly is the plant most associated with Christmas in many European countries. Holly wreaths are hung on doors, and sprigs of holly used to trim Christmas puddings. Like most of"
"Christian centuries, winter festivals—especially those centered on the winter solstice—were the most popular of the year in many European pagan cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needed to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached. Celtic winter herbs such as mistletoe and ivy, and the custom of kissing someone of the opposite sex when under a mistletoe, are common in modern Christmas celebrations in the English-speaking countries. The pre-Christian Germanic peoples—including the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse—celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early"
"as with protection from witches and demons. Mistletoe continued to be associated with fertility and vitality through the Middle Ages, and by the 18th century it had also become incorporated into Christmas celebrations around the world. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe is referred to as popular among servants in late 18th century England: the serving class of Victorian England is credited with perpetuating the tradition. The tradition dictated that a man was allowed to kiss any woman standing underneath mistletoe, and that bad luck would befall any woman who refused the kiss. One variation on the tradition stated"
"that with each kiss a berry was to be plucked from the mistletoe, and the kissing must stop after all the berries had been removed. Unfortunately, people have reportedly been poisoned and died from consuming mistletoe. In Germany, the Christmas tradition is that people who kiss under mistletoe will have an enduring love or are bound to marry one another. From at least the mid-19th century, Caribbean herbalists of African descent have referred to mistletoe as ""god-bush"". Mistletoe is the state floral emblem of Oklahoma and the county flower of Herefordshire. Every year, the UK town of Tenbury Wells holds"
"white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it. This is probably a fertility ritual. The mistletoe berry juice resembles semen. Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels. Both the displaying of wreaths and candles in each window are a more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen, make up Christmas wreaths and are designed to prepare Christians for the Advent season. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate the fact that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world."
"Christmas plants Christmas plants are various flowers or vegetation from garden plants associated with the festive season of Christmas. There are many different plants used around the world during Christmas. Beyond Christmas flowers, there are also Christmas foods, and Christmas drinks, that use traditional plants. There are also a wide variety of plants that include ""Christmas"" in their common name. Logs specifically are used in the following Christmas traditions: Other plants used in Christmas celebration: Christmas cactus, also known as orchid cactus, often blooms around Christmas time. There are a number of different cactus species sold as ""Christmas cactus"" including"
"Christmas flowers Christmas flowers are the popular flowers used during the festive season of Christmas. In many nations, seasonal flowers and plants such as Poinsettia, Christmas cactus, holly, Christmas rose, ivy and mistletoe form a major part of traditional Christmas decoration. The ancient Aztecs (ruling tribe in central Mexico at the time of contact with Europe) 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"
"are dispersed by birds and humans. This invasive species was introduced to the United States in the early twentieth century as an ornamental species. It was observed to have escaped cultivation in 1982. Preparations made from the root of ""Ardisia crenata"" are used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. Christmas berry is an upright perennial shrub that grows tall. It maintains a caespitose growth pattern and is often multi-trunked. Christmas berry prefers moist soil and germination can occur from pH 4 to pH 10. It does well in temperatures of 25 °C and above. Germination rates are as high"
"""Schlumbergera opuntioides"", ""Schlumbergera kautskyi"", and ""Schlumbergera microsphaerica"". Christmas rose can be any of the following: Christmas tree is applied to a number of plants: Christmas wreath as wreaths made from: Christmas bush is used for: Christmas bells is applied to: Other plants with ""Christmas"" in their name include: Christmas plants Christmas plants are various flowers or vegetation from garden plants associated with the festive season of Christmas. There are many different plants used around the world during Christmas. Beyond Christmas flowers, there are also Christmas foods, and Christmas drinks, that use traditional plants. There are also a wide variety of"
"the mistletoe, and would pluck a berry from the bush after each kiss. After all the berries were gone, it was bad luck to continue kissing under that bush. It is important to remember that during this period a kiss was taken very seriously - it was usually seen as a promise of marriage. In some Western cultures, it is a custom for people to kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Some hold the superstition that failing to kiss someone ensures a year of loneliness. When celebrating at a Scottish Hogmanay party, it is custom to"
"Helleborus niger Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore, is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is poisonous. Although the flowers resemble wild roses (and despite its common name), Christmas rose does not belong to the rose family (Rosaceae). The black hellebore was described by Carl Linnaeus in volume one of his ""Species Plantarum"" in 1753. The Latin specific name ""niger"" (black) may refer to the colour of the roots. There are two subspecies: ""H. niger niger"" and ""H. niger macranthus"", which has larger flowers (up to 3.75 in/9 cm across). In the"
"a mistletoe festival and crowns a 'Mistletoe Queen'. One of the earliest references to mistletoe traditions in popular music is the 1952 hit 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', which was originally sung by Jimmy Boyd and has been covered by many singers. The song was written by British songwriter Tommie Connor and recorded in the US. The 1958 US hit 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' refers to couples wanting to stop beneath the mistletoe. In 1988, the British singer Cliff Richard released a popular Christmas song called 'Mistletoe and Wine'. More recent Christmas songs referring to mistletoe traditions include"
"can cause burning of the eyes, mouth and throat, oral ulceration, gastroenteritis and hematemesis. ""Helleborus niger"" is commonly called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in Bethlehem. One subspecies blooms at the abbey in England believed by some to have been established by St. Thomas. There is a source that claims it blooms near the new calendar date of 6 January. This date had been Christmas Day under the old Julian calendar. So when Christmas Day"
"of the most famous songs is a children’s song often used to tease other children who are thought to feel affection toward each other: [name] and [name] sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G First comes love, then comes marriage Then comes a baby in a baby carriage Kissing out of honor, respect, and even forgiveness is a tradition that is incorporated into many Christian denominations. The kissing of icons, painted images of Jesus and the saints, is the primary form of veneration in Orthodox Christianity. Veneration of the holy images is an ancient custom dating back to the 5th and 6th"
"color and its blooming season coinciding with the Christmas holiday season. However, florist dye them in common colors or even add shimmers to make them much more visually engaging during Christmas. Christmas cactus, also known as orchid cactus, often blooms around Christmas time. Pendulous stems of Christmas cactus make it a great choice for hanging baskets. There are a number of different cactus species sold as ""Christmas cactus."" One plant called Christmas rose is regarded as a true Christmas flower in certain parts of the world. Christmas rose ""(Serissa)"" is also known as the ""snow rose"" or ""winter rose."" Originally"
"species in 1906 and given it the name ""Dendrobium pectinatum"", unaware that name had already been used for a different kind of orchid. The specific epithet (""nativitatis"") is derived from the Latin word ""natus"" meaning ""birth"", implying the nativity of Christ, or Christmas, referring to the type locality. The Christmas Island crimp orchid is common in rainforest on the plateau and the high terraces of the island, where it favours ""Planchonella"" and ""Eugenia"" species as the host trees. It is only known from Christmas Island. This orchid is closely related to ""Dendrobium aureilobum"" from Java and Sumatra. Dendrobium nativitatis Dendrobium"
"fern forms, and it differs from it and almost all other ferns in that fertile (spore bearing) leaflets of the Christmas fern are noticeably smaller than the sterile leaflets and located on the same leaf. The fertile leaflets are identified by being covered by a typically brown covered mass and are located at the tip of the leaf. Like other ferns of the genus ""Polystichum"", it is allied to the wood ferns, genus ""Dryopteris"", to which it is often found growing in close proximity. ""P. acrostichoides"" is known to hybridize with ""Polystichum braunii"" in areas where their ranges overlap. Christmas"
"and are arranged in a terminal botryoid, branched-botryoid or panicle. Mauve-flowered shrubs are often encountered at higher altitudes. Having a fragrance akin to honey, the flower is composed of a 4–5 mm long calyx with a 2–3 mm long calyx tube. The white to pale mauve corolla is 10–15 mm long, and has purple spots in its throat. French naturalist Jacques Labillardière described the Victorian Christmas bush in volume 2 of his ""Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen"" in 1806, from a specimen collected in Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). The specific epithet is derived from the Greek words ""lasios"" ""hairy"" and ""anthos"""
"Passerina ericoides Passerina ericoides, the Christmas berry, is a threatened species of plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, genus ""Passerina"". It is indigenous to the coastal fynbos areas in and around the city of Cape Town, South Africa. ""Passerina ericoides"" is a shrub typically up to 1 metre high, with narrow, slightly succulent, leaves some two to three mm long, its flowers are greenish-yellow to reddish, and are subtended by leaflike bracts. Unlike most species of ""Passerina"", the plant bears fleshy orange or red berries. They taste nasty, but are harmless and look very attractive. Tortoises eat them and presumably spread"
"more widespread throughout Britain. By the 1870s, people in the United States had adopted the custom of putting up a Christmas tree. Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments. Since the 16th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem; in that country it is known in Spanish as the ""Flower of the Holy Night"". Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along"
"Prostanthera lasianthos Prostanthera lasianthos, commonly known as the Victorian Christmas bush, is a large shrub or small tree of the mint family, Lamiaceae, which is native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. It grows up to 10 m (35 ft) high but is usually much less and is found in wet sclerophyll forests, often beside creeks. Its flowers, which appear in profuse sprays, are about 2 cm long and white or pale lilac, with purple and orange blotches in the throat. They appear in late spring and summer, and specifically around Christmas time in Victoria. The"
"can be seen in the branches of the original Covin Tree were once attached to concrete weights which aimed to balance the trunk – in its younger days the tree was twice as high as it is now. The 'Kissing Beech' is located at Kilravock Castle, Inverness-shire. This ancient 'layering' beech took its name from an occasion when a member of the local laird's family was caught in the middle of a kiss with a maid under the tree's canopy. It carries the names of many pairs of lovers and symbols of their devotion inscribed in its venerable expanse of"
"'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin' Stevens (1991), 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' written and performed by Mariah Carey (1994) and 'Mistletoe' by Justin Bieber (2011). In the popular roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons, druids use mistletoe as the default focus item for casting spells. Mistletoe Mistletoe is the English common name for most obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. Their parasitic lifestyle have led to some dramatic changes in their metabolism."
"Christmas Island, the orchid is common on rainforest trees growing on the plateau and the upper terraces of the island. The orchid resembles both ""P. limenophylax"" Benth. from Norfolk Island, and ""P. minutiflora"" Lindl. from Borneo, but differs from them in its larger size and in the contracted lip. Phreatia listeri Phreatia listeri is a species of epiphytic orchid. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific epithet honours British zoologist and plant collector Joseph Jackson Lister, who visited the island on HMS ""Egeria"" in 1887. ""Phreatia listeri"" is a small, clump-forming"
"Calanthe Calanthe, commonly known as Christmas orchids, is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen or deciduous terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobulbs, large corrugated leaves and upright, sometimes arching flowering stems. The sepals and petals are narrow and a similar size to each other and the labellum usually has spreading lobes. Orchids in the genus ""Calanthe"" are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The"
"Ischaemum nativitatis Ischaemum nativitatis, commonly known as the Christmas Island duck-beak, is a tropical grass in the Poaceae family. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. The specific epithet comes from the Latin ""nativitas"" (""birth"") referring to the birth of Christ, or Christmas, after the name of the island. The Christmas Island duck-beak is an erect, tufted grass, 250–700 mm tall, with the stems often branched and the nodes smooth. The leaves are 30–110 mm long, 2.5–7 mm wide and are scattered along the stem. The two bristly racemes are 15–50 mm long,"
"Christmas kurrajong because it flowers at Christmas. At 25 metres high with a girth of 50 centimetres it is a common garden plant in northern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland and grows on rainforest margins, often as regrowth after logging. Its foliage is very characteristically horizontally layered. Alex Floyd's book, Rainforest Trees of South-eastern Australia, notes its distribution is from the Bellinger River in northern NSW to Cape York and Malaysia. Floyd notes the fibrous bark was used by Australian aborigines to make nets for catching kangaroos and fish. Species include: Commersonia Commersonia is a genus of trees and"