Tanner: Going green for the holidays

Christmas greenery can brighten the holiday season. Here's a look at some of them.

MISTLETOE

The lyrics "Oh by gosh, by golly, it's time for mistletoe and holly" may lead one to think that this plant only thrives in December. Not so because this evergreen pest feeds from its host year-round. Holly, ivy and other greenery such as mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits as well as celebrate new growth.

Mistletoe is spread on trees through bird-poo. Being a parasite, the seed of the mistletoe dropped by birds grow into a plant which attaches to and penetrates the branches of a tree or shrub through which they absorb water and nutrients from the host plant.

Its name derived from two Anglo-Saxon words, "Mistel" (meaning dung) and "tan" (meaning twig or stick). It could be referred to as "poo-on-a-stick," so think on that next time you get a quick kiss when standing under it.

Some say kissing under the mistletoe originated from Norse mythology because it was a symbol of love and friendship while others contend the 'kissing-custom' started in England.

Although poisonous to humans, mistletoe promotes wildlife by providing a great source of food for many animals. Birds rely on the plant and butterflies lay their eggs on it and use the nectar from its flowers, while bees retrieve important pollen from its flowers.

HOLLY

Holly is known for its vibrant red and green colors that stand out against the starkness of winter foliage.

While other plants and trees show signs of weathering during cold winter months, the holly tree remains green and strong, its berries a bright colored red in the harshest of conditions. Most certainly when you take a winter walk through the forests, the bright greens of holly's can be spotted along with the evergreen cedars and pines, only putting on a little more show by sporting clusters of red berries.

The lyrics of a song titled, "The Holly and the Ivy" from "The Hymns of Carols of Christmas" songbook uses the holly symbol to celebrate the birth of Christ stating: 'The holly bears a berry/as red as any blood/and many bore sweet Jesus Christ/to do poor sinners good.' The prickly leaves of the holly represent the 'crown of thorns' that Jesus wore when he was crucified while the berries represent the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns.

The American holly was established as the official state tree of Delaware in 1939.

Another characteristic of the holly tree is that there are both male and female plants. Although, both male and female holly's bloom in May or June, yielding white flowers, only the female plants can produce berries. In order for this production to occur, a male plant must be near a female plant for the process of pollination to take place.

Holly berries are an important source of food for some birds such as thrush and blackbirds but are toxic to humans.

CHRISTMAS TREES

No. 1 on the list of Christmas greenery goes to the balsam fir for the decorating and lighting of the Christmas tree, which to children stands for all the excitement and color of the holiday season.

It is not know exactly when and where the custom of the Christmas tree began. It is believed that the custom is a survival of the tree worship of ancient German tribes, but many legends are told about its origin.

The balsam fir, because of its shape and because its needles do not drop quickly, is a popular choice, but others such as the Douglas fir and blue spruce are also good choices.

For a child of five, for all they cared, it could be a 'bare' Charlie Brown tree with one ornament hanging from it with a red bow on its 'tip- top', just as long as Santa would have a spot to drop off all the toys they put on their Christmas wish list.

COLLARDS

While all of these other Christmas greeneries lend importance to the Christmas season, we should NOT forget the greenery that has become a staple of our Lowcountry dinner table -- the lowly collard plant.

While the holiday meal will consist of roast turkey and ham, cornbread dressing smothered with giblet gravy, yeast rolls to sop up any gravy left on your plate, macaroni and cheese and other fattening, sumptuous fare, nothing tastes quite so good as collard greens that have had some frost on their leaves to sweeten them up before cooking.

Collard patches can be spotted sprinkled all along our rural-country roads where a spot of ground near the home can be worked and tended to yield enough thick, green leaves to be cropped for a steaming pot of tender collards plus the iron rich liquor -- "pot likker."

Sights of all of these greeneries tend to put us in the Christmas spirit.

Contributor Jean Tanner is a lifetime rural resident of the Bluffton area and can be reached at jstmeema@hargray.com.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Tanner: Going green for the holidays ."