Christmas, a bestower of colorful scenes indoors and outdoors in beautiful SC Lowcountry
While most folk connect the phrase, “I’m seeing red,” with anger, this time of year that phrase could simply mean, “the color of Christmas” in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
While children associate the color of red with Santa’s suit, this dominant color of Christmas in early times tied in with apples used as ornaments on a Christmas tree and also the color of Holly berries, which are said to represent the drops of blood Jesus shed when He died on the cross.
Also, some colors of red included in Christmas tree decorations, other than the festive strung lights, are some scarlet red ornamental birds hanging from the tree.
Sylvia Underwood uses this décor found at a local craft store to brighten her tree each year since the Northern Cardinal is one of her favorite birds, adding brilliant color when flitting around to an otherwise cold and dreary winter day.
For her tree topper Sylvia uses another favorite, an Angel, one of many she collects, to dazzle her beauty of snow white, another color of Christmas that speaks of purity and peace.
These two colors, red and white, are colors representing Christianity. In Christianity the red Cardinal is a symbol of faith. A rendering of the Holy Spirit generally contains two elements, white light and red flames. A white Dove represents the purity and peace in the light of the Spirit, while the red Cardinal represents the fire and vitality of the living Spirit.
In our backyards, around our bird feeders or silhouetted against an evergreen tree or even a “surprise” visit of white snow we experience on occasion, the scarlet red Cardinal makes a brilliant flash of color while giving a loud clear whistle, “what cheer, what cheer,” with the rolling carol ending in, “wheat, wheat, wheat.”
The belief, that a Cardinal is a representative of a loved one who has passed, is soothing to the soul, meaning, when you see one they are visiting you and usually show up when you most need or miss them; “Cardinals appear when Angels are near.”
Green, another color of the season, is considered the color of life. While most trees lose their color in harsh winter, evergreens such as Holly and Fir remain green, so in early times people thought there was a certain magic helping them survive tying in the color of green as new life.
Evergreens are a part of Christmas shared in making wreaths and used as our Christmas tree, reminding us of hope and new life. Wreaths have a significant meaning during the Christmas season with their circular shape representing eternity, having no beginning and no end, symbolizing new and everlasting life.
When tying these colors of red, white and green along with colorful wrapped gifts under the tree, we pause to remember the “reason for the season,” the birth of Jesus.
Luke 2: 11-12, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Jean Tanner may be reached at jstmeema@hargray.com.
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 9:24 AM.