Christmas Holiday Plants

Christmas has many traditions. Singing songs. Cooking foods. Giving gifts. Some special trees and plants are also part of Christmas tradition.

One of the most popular is the evergreen tree. It remains green during the cold, dark months of winter in the northern part of the world. It is a symbol of everlasting life.

Many people buy an evergreen tree for Christmas. They put it in their house and hang small lights and colorful objects on its branches. Another popular evergreen plant is mistletoe. It has small white berries and leaves that feel like leather. The traditional Christmas mistletoe is native to Europe.

Priests of the Druid religion of ancient Britain and France believed mistletoe had magical powers. Today many people hang mistletoe in a doorway at Christmas time. If you meet someone under the mistletoe, tradition gives you permission to kiss them.

Poinsettia plants have become popular at Christmas. They are valued for their colorful bracts, which look like leaves. Most are bright red, but they also can be white or pink. Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They are name after America's first minister to Mexico, Joel Poinsett.

Two thick, sticky substances from trees have been part of Christmas beginning. They are frankincense and myrrh. Both have powerful, pleasant smells. Tradition says three wise men carried them as gifts to the
Christ child in Bethlehem.

Finally, there are several herbs used in Christmas foods, drinks and decorations. One is sage. Its leaves are cooked with turkey ro goose. And sweet-smelling rosemary plants are hung on doors or cut to look like little Christmas trees.

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