206 SUPERSTITIONS RESPECTING FLOWERS. 



cept on such plants as are shielded from the inclemency of the weath 

 er; even the green-house plants can scarcely be made to blossom. 



The leaves^^of the trees, and the stems of all annual plants, are 

 also decayed ; some hardy evergreens yet retain their cheerful ver- 

 dure. At Christmas, the foliage of the laurel, pine, spruce, and the 

 beautiful running, or ground-pine, (Lycopodidm,) belonging to the 

 family of Ferns, are found in perfection, ready to welcome the anni- 

 versary of our Saviour's birth. 



The custom of decora,ting churches wjth evergreens, is of very 

 ancient date. On this subject, an English writer observes. " The 

 evergreens, with which the churches are usually ornamented at 

 Christmas, are a proper emblem of that time when, as God says by 

 the prophet Isaiah, / will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the 

 viyrtle, and. the olive-tree ; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, and pine- 

 tree, and the box-tree together?'' And in another place, " The glory 

 of Lebanon shall come imto thee; the fir-tree, and the pine-tree, and 

 box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary ; and I tmll make 

 the place of my feet glorious?'' 



In the Romish church, which abounds in external observances of 

 religion, it is customary to bear palm boughs in procession, on the 

 anniversary of the day when Christ went into Jerusalem and the 

 children strewed branches of palm-trees before him. In more 

 northern latitudes, box, pine, olive, and willows are used as a sub- 

 stitute for real palms, which do not grow, as in Judea, by the way- 

 sides. The day on which this ceremony is performed, is called 

 Palm-Sunday. 



Superstitions withrcgard to the hlnssoviin^ of Plants. 



In the Romish church, many superstitions exist with regard to cer- 

 tain plants which happen to blossom about the time of some Saints' 

 days. In Italy, and other countries in the south of Europe, where 

 these superstitions first originated, the dead-nettle being in blossom 

 about the time of St. Vincent's day, a martyr who suffered for 

 Christianity under the Emperor Dioclesian, in the year 304, the flow- 

 er is consecrated to him. 



The winter hellebore is usually in blossom about the time of the 

 conversion of St. Paul, supposed to be in commemoration of that 

 event. 



The crocus was dedicated to St. Valentine, as it appears about 

 the period of that Saint's day, which is regarded as peculiarly sacred 

 to affection ; St. Valentine is recorded to have been eminent for love 

 and charity. One species of daisy appears about the time of St. 

 Margaret's day; this is called in France, La Belle Marguerite, and 

 in England, Herb Margaret. 



The Crown-imperial blossoms in England about the 18th of March, 

 the day of St. Edward, King of the West Saxons; nature thus, as 

 was imagined, honouring the day with a royal flower. 



The Cardamine, or our Lady's flower, distinguished for its pure 

 white, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. 



The Mary-gold, so called from a fancied resemblance of the florets 

 of its disk to rays of glory, is also consecrated to the Virgin. 



On the day of St. George, the patron saint of England, the blue 

 bells, there called field hyacinth, tinge the meadows and pastures 

 with their deep blue colour ; they are thought to afford an emblem of 

 the empire of the ocean, over which England assumes the rule. 



Decorating churches with evergreens— Palm-Sunday— Superstitions in the Romish 

 church with regard to the blossoming of certain plants— Plants dedicated to certain 

 Saints. 



