Hello and welcome back to the third in a series of 12 posts about birth flowers! I particularly love the history of December’s birth flowers - there is a richness and depth to the stories that made them popular. (I think you will particularly enjoy the history and name origin of the Narcissus!) Enjoy!

December Birth Flowers: Narcissus and Holly

Narcissus

Meaning: Hope, faithfulness. The Farmer’s Almanac says that the meaning of the Narcissus paperwhite (see below) conveys an unconditional love for your beloved.

Name Origin: There are actually several flowers in the narcissus family that you will be familiar with: the daffodil, the jonquil, and the paperwhite. Some sources name the paperwhite as the official birth flower of December, merely belonging to the narcissus family. The petals of the paperwhite are thin as paper and very delicate… you can see where it got its name. But here’s the fun part about the name origin of the Narcissus:

Narcissus was a figure in Greek mythology – strong, beautiful, but full of arrogance. Women fell in love with him, but he rejected them in disdain. A wood nymph, Echo, (named so because she angered the goddess Hera and was cursed to merely repeat the words of all who addressed her) became so obsessed with his beauty that she approached him and threw herself upon him in desire. Narcissus was furious and spurned her affections so viciously that she wandered the woods in despair until all that was left of her was her voice. When the goddess Nemesis discovered what had happened, she punished Narcissus to avenge Echo’s death, and one day, while Narcissus was hunting, he discovered his reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with his reflection. But when he realized that he couldn’t reach the object of his desire he committed suicide, and a bed of flowers sprung from the ground from his remains; the flowers we now know as the Narcissus flowers.

History: The flowers originate in Portugal and Greece. They are a perennial flower, (growing from a bulb and returning each year by itself) and they grow in bunches. These bunches look so lovely that with some species, you can pick a single grouping of these flowers and make it a bouquet by itself. (Obviously for the history of the flower, see the description of the Greek Myth above!)

Fun Facts:

· I’ve heard that paperwhites have a sweet, peppery scent and are particularly fragrant.

· Legend warns against ever presenting someone with a single daffodil bloom – if you give a single bloom, it will be the harbinger of misfortune on the receiver of the bloom.

· Narcissus the most popular flower in Germany.

· Paperwhites are particularly easy to grow indoors and will bloom within three to four weeks of potting.

· Part of the chemical makeup of the Narcissus has helped produce galantamine, which treats the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia.

· The daffodil is the national flower of Wales.

· Because these flowers bloom in England during Lent, the English used to call the daffodil the Lent Lily.

Holly

Meaning: Hope. Because this bloom is an evergreen bloom, it symbolizes hope; its full-bodied green leaves remain green throughout its long life, reminding us that hope will always cast a sliver of light into the deepest of nights. It is the perfect December birth flower during the time of the year when most things good and green have hibernated or perished. Perhaps the writer of the fondly sung phrase “Have a holly, jolly Christmas” brought more intentionality to his lyrics than we thought…

Name Origin: The name “holly” comes from the Old English word, “holegn,” which means ‘to prick.’

History: Holly has some very superstitious mythology attached to it - too much to name credibly here, but as far as I know, its significance began in the time of the Druids. The Druids instructed the Celts to hang holly over their door frames to catch evil spirits before they entered the home. When the Christians adopted Holly into their traditions, it became symbolic of the crucifixion of Christ. Holly berries were said to have once been white, but when Christ’s blood was shed on the cross, it stained all holly berries red. The glossy yet prickly leaves of the holly bush were used by the Christians as a reminder of the crown of thorns Christ wore at his crucifixion. Some Christian lore said that holly bushes sprang up in the imprints of Christ’s footsteps. The Romans associated the evergreen with Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest, (probably because it flourishes in even the harshest inclements) and used the sprigs as adornments and centerpieces during their Saturnalia festivals. They also believed putting the holly in their home would protect it from lightning strikes. (Random, right?)

Fun Facts:

· The American Holly Tree was inaugurated as the official state tree of Delaware in 1939, and one source claimed that the town of Milton, Delaware adorned their town with more holly at Christmas than anywhere in the world!

· Like most plants, holly bushes have both male and female plants, and only the female plants can produce berries! Symbolic…

· Dried holly stems used to be given to cows to increase their milk production…(maybe I should have tried that…ha).