Christmas Rose a symbol of life

Christmas is almost synonymous with huge celebration spread across all over the world. The Christians celebrate it with great zeal but the amazing fact is that now a days even non Christians are also expressing their involvement with the celebration of Christmas. The huge popularity of Christmas has earned immense acquaintance for the symbols which are associated with rituals of Christmas. Ivy, Laurel, Rosemary, Holly, Mistletoe and Poinsettia are some of the flowers that are naturally mentioned with the celebration of Christmas but then they have a rival and the rivalry is certainly difficult to overcome. Well, there is no prize for guessing that the rival flower is Rose. Rose is associated with Christmas since time immemorial.  The Christmas rose is known for its evergreen trait and the beauty of the plant gets augmented many folds with the white or purplish flower.

The legend of rose…

It is not just that the rose is used for decorative purpose but it has a legend as well. It is said that a young girl named Madelon came to worship little Child Christ. But she was upset over the fact that she had forgotten to bring any gift for the baby boy while others have already showered precious gifts like gold, frankincense and myrrh. Madelon despised the fact that she was poor and could not bring any gift for little Jesus. She made a vain attempt to get some flowers but could not get any flower because of the harsh winter. So she started crying and an angel who was passing by noticed her. It is said that the ground was smitten by her tears and a beautiful bunch of white roses sprang at the ground. Then the angel pronounced the words that “Nor myrrh, nor frankincense, nor gold, is offering more meet for Christ Child than these pure Christmas Roses”. Thus it can be understood that the certification of purity of roses is angelic. Since then it has been a custom to offer white Christmas roses to Jesus on the occasion of Christmas.
Here are some of the interesting facts about the alliance of rose and Christianity…..

• The rose is not mentioned in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament.
• Rose is generally hailed as the queen of flowers and thus suits as a symbol of Mary who is considered as the queen of heaven and earth.
• In many cultures around the world rose is the symbol of beauty and purity and so it is in Christianity.
• Rose together with some other flowers represent the other world that is the world after death.
• Rose also symbolizes the union of Christ with his Church.

Rose has a multifaceted influence over Christianity and remains as powerful symbol down the ages.