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Catherine Castle, Christmas, Christmas trees, Holiday essay, Musings for a Writer's Brain, the colours of Christmas
Well, dear readers, I’m back again.
You may have wondered where I’ve been for the past couple of months. The answer is recuperating. I fell—well, rather tripped—up an uneven step and broke my right arm. Yes, before you ask, it was my right arm, the same one on which I had shoulder replacement surgery on in February of this year. In my typical fashion, I did a big number on the break—a spiral break that required a plate in my arm from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the upper arm. I’ve got a gnarly scar to show for it. The good news is that I didn’t mess up the prosthetic shoulder replacement. I can type rather easily on the computer keyboard now, so I decided it’s time to come back to the blog. I’ve been doing the minimum to keep up with my scheduled guests.
Christmas is coming, and I have a post I wanted to share, even though I won’t be doing my usual decorating. I’m still supposed to wear the sling when I’m up and about, and decorating an eight-foot tree with one arm isn’t easy. I’m the main Christmas decorator in my house.
I don’t know about you, but I love the familiar and colorful shades of red and green of Christmas. And I have a lot of different themed ornaments, but one of my favorites is my poinsettia Christmas tree shown below.
Recently, on an internet blog I saw a suggestion for a black Christmas tree trimmed in gold. The post called it a sleek, modern look for an adult gathering.
Really?
I get the gold part, and gold shows up a lot in my Christmas décor. After all one of the wise men brought the baby Jesus a gift of gold. Maybe if I stretch my imagination far enough I could say the black represents the sin Christ came to conquer. But, black will never be the new red and green in my house.
Have you ever wondered why the colors of Christmas are red and green? Here are a few possibilities I’ve dug up for you to ponder.
- The Paradise play, a drama recounting Genesis 3 —the fall of Adam and Eve into sin and God’s promise of a Redeemer born of a woman—was performed in medieval times during advent. The Tree of Knowledge, from which Adam and Eve ate, was often depicted using a pine tree with red apples pinned on it. The decorated tree that began as a prop for the Paradise play was so popular that people began to put pine trees up in their homes during the holiday, decorating them with red apples. The idea spread and both Christmas trees and the color combination of red and green began its transformation into the official colors of Christmas
- Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.
- Red is also the color of Bishops robes—robes that later became associated with St. Nicholas and later became the color of Santa’s suit.
- Dr Spike Bucklow from the University of Cambridge’s Hamilton Kerr Institute says “One can trace the roots of this colour coding (red and green) back through the centuries, to a time when the colours themselves had symbolic meaning, possibly as a way of accentuating a significant division or a boundary.” He also thinks, based on his research of the art history of medieval rood screens which date from the 14th to the 16th centuries and were used to separate the nave from the chancel of churches, the use of those red and green by the church may also been a question of pigment availability. Most of the screens he studied appeared to be painted in red and green. Over the years, modern humanity has lost the meaning of the colors, which would have been readily apparent to even the lowest of peasants.
- Green reminded the ancients that spring would come—a reminder they needed much more than we, with our bright electrically lit homes, would need during dark, clouded winter days.
- Green symbolizes the continuous life cycle, as does the birth of Christ who gives us hope of an eternal life.
So, you can put up a black tree, decorated in gold balls and tinsel, but for me and my house—we prefer red and green!
What about you? Do you decorate with red and green at Christmas? Or do you prefer the silver/white and blue—the colors of winter? Or something even farther out there?
When you’ve tired yourself out with the Christmas preparations, take a break with Catherine’s award winning romantic comedy with a touch of drama, A Groom for Mama, available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
A Groom for Mama
By Catherine Castle
Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.
The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.
A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.
About the Author:
Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. She also lays claim to over 300 internet articles written on a variety of subjects and several hundred poems. In addition to writing she loves reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Catherine Castle 