Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994                   TAG: 9412290079
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JOE HUNNINGS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HERE ARE THE STORIES BEHIND SOME HOLIDAY HERBS|

Some came to be associated with the holidays for their color or flavor - holly with its red berries is one of the few plants with color in the winter, and sage and juniper berries were often used for seasoning the roast goose or turkey. But most of them were originally used because they symbolized a quality or emotion important to the spirit of the holidays.

We have forgotten many of these symbolic meanings over the years, but there is renewed interest in recovering our holiday "roots."

Costmary, or alecost, leaves were used to add spice to holiday ale, or wassail, in Europe. Ivy and bay laurel were long used, along with other greens, to help celebrate the winter solstice: ivy symbolizing friendship; and bay laurel associated with Apollo, mythical god of light, as a reminder that the long winter soon would melt into spring.

Everyone is familiar with the Bible story of the three kings and their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Frankincense pods and myrrh gum are scented plant materials that could be classified as herbs and are becoming available today through potpourri material dealers. They could be used to make a "potpourri of three kings," blending these two with gold arrow. Arrow also has significance in the Christmas tradition in its own right, as it is sometimes called carpenter's weed (for its purported folk-healing powers on cuts) and associated with Joseph the carpenter, the earthly father of Jesus.

One of the nicest Christmas legends is told about rosemary. It is said that its flowers were originally white, but the Virgin Mary laid her blue cloak upon the fragrant branches one day, and the flowers took on the soft, clear-blue color of that sacred garment.

Until the 20th century, rosemary was a popular Christmas evergreen, right up there with holly and mistletoe. A gilded rosemary sprig was a treasured gift. Why it fell out of use is a mystery, but it is starting to make a comeback with the use of rosemary in holiday wreaths and rosemary topiaries as small Christmas trees. Perhaps the use of rosemary, which symbolizes remembrance, can help us in these commercialized times to remember the true meaning of our winter holiday.

Joe Hunnings is the Virginia Cooperative Extension agent for agriculture in the Montgomery County Extension Office in Christiansburg. If you have questions, call him at 382-5790.