Poinsettia/ Julestjerne

Euphorbia pulcherrima





Poinsettia/ Julestjerne  is an ornamental plant originally from Mexico . It is  a commercially important plant and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant to the US in 1825.

Poinsettia is a shrub or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6–4 metres (2–13 ft). The plant bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 7–16 centimetres (2.8–6.3 in) in length. The colored bracts—which are most often flaming red but can be orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled—are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves. The colors of the bracts are created through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness (12 hours at a time for at least five days in a row) to change color. At the same time, the plants require abundant light during the day for the brightest color.

Young plants are partly succulents. The short branches are from beginning herbel-like and juicy, but they gradually turn wooden-like. The barch is first olive green, but later greyish brown with crevices. The upperside of the leaves is dark green, while the underside is light green. 
The flowers of the poinsettia are unassuming and do not attract pollinators. They are grouped within small yellow structures found in the center of each leaf bunch, and are called cyathia.

Like in other plants of the spurge family (vortemælkfamilien) the juice is latex-containing and white. People with latexallergy must avoid to get the juice on their skin. The plant iself is only vaguely poisonous .

There are over 100 cultivated varieties of poinsettia.

In areas outside its natural environment, it is commonly grown as an indoor plant where it prefers good morning sun, then shade in the hotter part of the day. Contrary to popular belief, flowering poinsettias can be kept outside, even during winter, as long as they are kept frost-free. It is widely grown and very popular in subtropical climates.

The plant requires a daily period of uninterrupted long, dark nights followed by bright sunny days for around two months in autumn in order to encourage it to develop colored bracts. Any incidental light during these nights (from a nearby television set, from under a door frame, even from passing cars or street lights) hampers bract production. Commercial production of poinsettia has been done by placing them inside a greenhouse and covering the latter completely to imitate the natural biological situation.

Poinsettias are susceptible to several diseases, mostly fungal, but also bacterial and parasitic.

The poinsettia is native to Mexico. It is found in the wild in deciduous tropical forests at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire Pacific coast of Mexico to Guatemala.
The species is naturalized in many other tropic districts.  

The poinsettia has been cultivated in egypt since the 1860s, when it was brought from Mexico during the Egyptian campaign. It is called bent el consul, "the consul's daughter", referring to the U.S. ambassador Joel Poinsett

The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil". Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as Flor de Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve Flower. In Spain it is known as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, meaning Easter flower.

In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as Crown of the Andes.  In Turkey, it is called Atatürk's flower because Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, liked this flower and made a significant contribution to its cultivation in Turkey.  In Hungarian, it is called Santa Claus flower, and it's widely used as a Christmas decoration.
 
The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl, commonly called Pepita or Maria, who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday and was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar.  Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became poinsettias.

From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the Blood Sacrifice through the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere They are available in large numbers from grocery, drug, and hardware stores. In the United States, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

JUL, JÓL, CHRISTMAS, WEIHNACHT, NAVIDAD................

Scandinavian Jul in the Viking period and in the early Middle Ages.
(source: Middelalderhistorie, Århus Universitet)

Candle in Vor Frue Kirke, Århus/ GB

The word Jul or the Old Norse Jól was used long before Christianity came to Denmark and Scandinavia. Jul was the term for the winter feasts when days of the year again began to grow longer - but today it is difficult to know what these ancient feasts really meant to people. 

Carl Larsson, Midvinterblót, (wikipedia)

The linguistic history of the word Jul are somewhat lost, but it has probably German roots. An early example of the use of the word is in the Gothic language spoken in Central and South Eruope in late Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages. The word Jul is first seen in the 300s. It was among others used in the form jiuleis which was the name for November or December. A few centuries later it is seen in Old English where it occurs as goiuli giulæi or youle  - as a description  of the period December-January. In Old Norse ( the language in Scandinavia in the Viking Age) the word seems to have had several meanings, but everything points to that the Old Norse Jól can be translated into feast. The word seems to have spread in Europe in Antiquity and early Middle Ages, the periods which in Denmark are named Iron Age and Viking Age. It was everywhere used about the same time of the year, but it is uncertain what the word actually covered -  also in the Nordic context.

Viking House, Fyrkat/ GB

There are no contemporary written sources which describe the before-Christian Jul. A few Nordic sources like scaldic verses and sagas, which use the word jul/jól, were written down in the Christian period, and they therefore reflect the world view of the Christian writer. In most source-cases where jul is mentioned, it is used about the Christian celebration, but a few Nordic sources indicate that the jul in Scandinavia  - also in the time before Christianity -  was a special event in December or January.

Harald Haarfager/ wikipedia

This is seen in the probably earliest Nordic source which mentions the word jul. It is a scaldic verse ( ab. year 900) by the scald Thorbjørn Hornklofi,  composed to king Harald Haarfager of Norway (king ca. 872-930). The  verse sounds like this: "the king will drink jul out ... and make Frej's play". The first words probably refer to how a ruler in the Viking Age had to move around a lot if he wanted to keep his power. It is not clear what is meant by Frej's play, but the drink sacrifice took a central role in the before-Christian religion, where the Vikings drank to honor gods like Frej and Odin. Maybe the verse refers to a sacrifice like this.

Odin, Hugin and Munin/wikipedia

Another scaldic verse pays tribute to king Harald Hardrada of Norway (king 1046-1066) for his victory at the battle field. It was said that the king prepared jul for Hugin's hird. Hugin was one of Odin's ravens, so the verse refers probably to the men killed in the battle and being food for the ravens. Maybe here is also referred to the unusual numbers of food taken in at the feasts of jul.

Hakon the Good/ wikipedia

The Icelandic Christian chronicle writer Snorri Sturlasson mentions jul in a saga about the Norwegian king Hakon the Good  (king ab.
933- 959). The saga was written down in ab. 1230. He describes that king Hakon decides to celebrate jul at the same time as the Christians. The saga also tells the story about a Viking chief, who after being a Christian, still held on to the tradition to celebrate three big feasts during each year, three yearly sacrifice feasts: one at the beginning of winter, one in midwinter and one in the start of summer.

Snorri Sturlasson,C.Krogh/ Wikipedia

When he became a Christian he continued celebrating three feasts each year, which were now named gæstebud (banquets): one in autumn, a jul-feast in winter and one at Easter. How the feasts were celebrated is told by Snorri: "the Christian king Hakon was invited to a jul-feast by some heathen farmers, who according to tradition wanted the king to take part in the sacrifice. (blót) The Christian king would not take part in this, but he needed to have the support of the farmers, so he found a compromise: he eat a little horse liver and drank some memorial cheers without crossing his drinking cup. Making the sign of the cross was a Christian custom which the farmers would never accept.

Jolagjafir/ wikipedia

The sagas holds also the first example e of the word julegave (Christmas gift). It is seen in a description of Norway's king Hakon (king 1093-1095). He was supported by a part of the Norwegian population if he refrained from filing the traditional taxes which the Norwegian people had to give the king, including julegaver/jolagjafir. In other parts of the sagas are examples of julegaver which remind of the phenomenon, known today. Scandinavian Viking chiefs gave gifts to their families around the turn of the year, and thus he followed a custom which had spread in the European courts. Princes also used gifts traditionally to attract important people and thereby establish or hold on to their social status. In time these gifts were connected to the jule feast.

Jul in Lejre, Zealand/ wikipedia

The German history writer Thietmar of Merseburg wrote in the beginning of the 1000s about a sacrifice feast which was held each year at Lejre in the Danish isle Zealand. Archeologists have here found a very important place, which probably functioned as the royal court of the Danes. According to Thietmar the Danes sacrificed humans and  animals in Lejre at a time where Christians celebrated the Holy three kings on 6 January, these sacrifices were held in order to please the underground people. Thietmar's descriptions reflects a Christian's negative view upon a heathen society -  and it is not certain if his description can be connected to the before-Christian jul, but it indicates that people of Scandinavia in December or January celebrated ritual blót-feasts.

Sacrifice place, reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia

After the introduction of Christianity in Denmark several sources mention how Danish kings kept magnificent feasts in order to celebrate the Christian jul. German history writers like Arnold of Lübeck describe in the 1100s how Danish kings had great drinking feasts. Similar descriptions are also seen in the Danish chronicles. The history writer Saxo wrote ab.year 1200 about a jule feast at the Danish court. The king invited the greatest men of the kingdom to magnificent feasts where they eat and drak for several days.

Sacrifice of food,reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia

Some are of the opinion that the before-Christian jul was at winter solstice, 21 or 22 December, others that it was at midwinter night between 19-20 January. Both suggestions could be true. There were probably several ritual feasts, which were held on various times in December or January. The feasts have varied from district to district, maybe even from family to family in some cases. There was probably a summer solstice feasts,  a feast at midwinter, and in other cases a fertility feast. The jól of winter was regarded as one of the intersection points of the year.

Feast in Middle Ages/ wikipedia

The jul was a ritual event, connected to the middle of winter. It seems that great men from the social elite often were the focal point of important feasts. Like the king the powerful men of the kingdom were often central in the ceremonies which were connected to the practice of the before-Christian religion - and they played undoubtedly an important role in marking the Jul. They drank, eat and sacrificed, and the sacrifice was probably held in one of the great halls where the elite resided. The jul-feast contributed to hold on to and to develop the social and religious structures of society.

Earliest Danish cross, Vor Frue kirke, Århus/ GB

In Scandinavia the word jul survived the introduction of Christianity, while other parts of Europe began to use words, which came from Christianity, like the English Christmas, the German Weihnacht and the Spanish Navidad etc. Likewise the considerable intake of food and drink seemed to live on in new forms. People did not cheer in the honor of Odin and Frej, but celebrated the birth of Christ. Although it immediately looks as if central parts of the before-Christian jul continued after the introduction of Christianity, it is important to say that the informations were written down by later Christian writers. They saw the past through a Christian lens and might therefore have transferred a part of their contemporary jul-celebration to their description of the past.





Source: Middelalderhistorie.dk, Århus Universitet.

Christmas Food and Drink and Dangers outside...

Now it  is soon Christmas again!

We are so used to our Christmas traditions that we don't wonder much about from where they come. Before Christianity was held a midwinterfeast, and it is not exactly known how it was celebrated, but the Icelandic chronicle writer Snorre Sturlasson (1178-1241) tells a Saga about Hakon the Good of Norway, where king Hakon had decided that the midwinterfeast - called Jól - had to be celebrated at the same time as the Christian feast on 24-25 December. The Jól was originally placed at the midwinternight, which at Snorre's time was in the middle of January. The name  Jól is of pre-Christian origin and means feasts.

Hakon the Good, P.N. Arbo  1800s

The ancient midwinterfeast was a celebration, where the wish about peace and fertility for the next year was dominant. King Hakon was very interested in Christianity, which was not a popular hobby in Norway at that time, and on his visit to one of his landlords,where the king had to bless the beer, he cheated by making the sign of the cross.This was rather unwelcome.

There is only one pre-Christian source about the ancient Jul. The singer says in a ballad that he wants "to drink Jul" while sailing on the sea. "To drink Jul" was one of the important elements of Christmas, and  this tradition goes back to pre-Christian times, but it is not certain if the beerdrinking and the intoxication might have had a cultic significance.

Julafton, Carl Larsson, Sweden

Together with Christianity the Jul gradually became a feast of the birth of Jesus, but since he is called the "Light of the World" it is actually correlating well with the basic idea of Christmas and the old celebration of the New Year and the coming light. The birth of Jesus was in the 300s defined as 25 December. Winter solstice was placed on this day in the Roman Empire- this created a situation where Jesus could compete with other deities who also had their main holy days around winter solstice - like in the Mithras religion. In the North the Jul was put together with the Christian feast for the birth of Christ, but the church did not succeed in naming the feast Kristmesse (Christmas). In Denmark it is still called JUL.

Food and Drink for Christmas

Ham and bacon were important. The pig had to die!

When the Christmas food had to be prepared for the table the pig had to be slaughtered. During the Christmas period people had -  if they could afford it - enough fat food and strong beer. In the 1700-1800s it was especially the meat from pork which was served on the Christmas table, and it was prepared into fresh boiled ham, sausage, blood sausage and salt food. The pigs had ideally been out in the forest all autumn, eating themselves fat in beech seeds and acorns. After autumn came November, named slagtermåned (slaughter month). And the fat pigs were being slaughtered.

Slaughtering the pig was an event above the usual. The farm people had to prevent someone from looking at the pig with evil eyes - and after the pig had been scalded and opened, the guts had to be brought into the house as soon as possible, and doors and windows of the scullery were closed, for if they were open, they might risc that the pig's intestines broke or all other kinds of misfortune happened. In order to prevent "unauthorized" persons to get into the scullery during the work, a cross was cut in the pig's heart, lungs and liver, before it was put into a water-filled vessel.  In a village at Zealand an ancient custom was still kept alive in the 1800s: the upper cervical vertebra was given to the dog. If a human eat the meat of this piece, it meant that he or she would be decapitated the next year. 

Wheat Bread was a special form of giant Christmas cakes and they were often decorated with  refined patterns. But the small Christmas cakes similar to what we know today were also a part of the Christmas delights. 

Giant Christmas bread cake 1637

In a farm the Christmas baking was another important task, especially the baking of sigtebrød (rye bread), a delicacy which people rarely had on daily terms. The large ovens were filled with  big delicious bread. Some breads were round or oval and were called cakes, some of these cakes were immensely giant and might have a weight of 12 kilos. Regardless of shape or weight they were equipped with some decorations. Around 1850s the patterns were drawn with a quill pen, a comb or other pointed things, circles were made by pressing a drinking glass into the dough, creative people stamped potato prints with figures cut in raw potatoes - or they made wooden stamps, where the figures were hearts, pentagrammes, stars and alike.

christmas cake molds 1600s.

There were special aromatic scents of all spices in the house during Christmas, both around the slaughter time and the baking time. When the breadbaking was finished, the next baking was the real cakes. The traditional peppernuts were made without leavening - and those small spicy cakes were as hard as stone. Spices were purchased as whole spices and grounded in a mortar, and the scent and aroma of allspice, cinnamon, pepper, clove, cardamom were the spirit of Christmas. Klejner, applecakes and various waffles also belonged to the Christmas assortment.

christmas beer 1896

Christmas beer had to be sweet. Good and strong and sweet beer was made in the home brewery.

eating and drinking 1600s

In the oldest source about the Nordic Christmas feast was a song from the end of the 800s. Here was no talk about celebrating Jul, but about "drinking jul". In the medieval folk songs the expression "to drink jul" was still used - and in the peasant society juletønden, the Christmas barrel, was the name of the sweet, strong and good beer made on the occassion of  the upcoming Christmas feast. The beer had to be strong and sweet, both honey and extra malt were added. The brewing work was hard, it gave thirst and the wife who did the brewing, might have taken the opportunity "to gaze a little too deep" in the newly brewed beer. A farmer's wife from Zealand had been gazing so deeply in the strong beer that her husband invited the lord of the manor to see the drunken housewife!  She was jumping around singing a song with an uncertain voice. "Is your wife always that happy ?" asked the landlord. The farmer said with a smile. "Well, we did brew some beer yesterday."

Brewery 1600s

The official breweries took gradually over and sent various types of beer on the market around Christmas time. Today, when Tuborg's Christmas beer is sent out the day is called J-day, and the beer is expected with excitement at the pubs.

The society's eating and drinking in Christmas time in the previous centuries might have had several reasons. People undoubtedly both eat and drank plenty when they had the possibility to do so, and Christmas time meant good and delicious food and strong and sweet beer, which contributed to the cosiness in the dark season. Some people meant that the Christmas-eating and drinking might be a means to secure a fertile year. Christmas was an event before the coming year, and by eating and drinking well during this special time people might influence the new year to contain some of the same abundance and ample supply like the previous year.

The Dangers outside

Today we connect Christmas with cosiness and security,  but for people in the old days - especially out in the country - Christmas had another and more gloomy dimension. It was the darkest time of the year and in the dark many dangers and nasty creatures might lurk. Many legends tell about people meeting ghosts and supernatural creatures at Christmas time.

The church service of the deceased:  A wellknown legend is about the church service of the deceased on Christmas night and takes place at a farm near Vokslev church in Himmerland. The farmhand were out early to fodder the horses on Christmas morning. The farm had no clock, and he went into the house to wake up the farmer and his wife. He told them they had slept over, he had heard some singing in the church - and the farmer's wife jumped out of bed. She must not be late for the church service. She dressed and hurried off to  church and into her church stool, but then she discovered that sitting next to her was someone who had died years ago. All the church goers were deceased people. Her neighbour whispered to her that she had to hurry out of the church and hold on to her cape, if she felt that someone was grasping it. She did as she was told - and when she came to the church door her cape was torn away from her. When the village people came to the church in the morning they saw her cape lie outside the church door, torn into little pieces

White Lady, wikipedia

Christmas ghosts. Other legends describe real Christmas ghosts at Kongensgård in Thy. A young girl was haunting each Christmas and New Years Eve, even in the stable where she had once hung herself.  At Spentrup churchyard near Randers a child murderer was haunting between Christmas and New Year, and in Besser vicarage at the island Samsø a child was heard crying on Christmas Eve.

At Høegholm manor a daughter of the landlord was evoked down in the forest, and when she was lowered to her neck she asked permission to come close to the manor by a hanefjed (tiny step) each Christmas Eve. She was allowed to do so and when she will reach the castle on Christmas Eve once upon a time, the castle will sink into the ground . At a farm at Balleskov field near Skanderborg was always a racket at Christmas and New Year, and at a farm in Keldernæs at Lolland "the ghosting" started already in November, increasing during Christmas and diminishing in January.

The Wild Hunt, P.N.Arbo 1872

Hans Lindenow, who died in 1659, drove through Skibbrogade in Kalundborg with his head under his arm. Many had seen this! They were said to be sober!In the town Nordborg at the island Samsø the Helhesten (a ghost horse) came and drank from the water trough. In some districts people might risc to meet "the Wild Hunt",  a society of hunting men and howling dogs, led by "the Night Hunter",  the "Wojensjæger" (the Odinshunter). He meant death and misfortune, if he did not get a ward off sacrifice. He wanted mostly meat for his dogs. The Night Hunter might be what some names suggest, namely nobody else than Odin himself, the Nordic Asatru's wise, but gloomy leader.

Helhesten/ The ghost horse

Death Omens: Christmas was also  - because of its special magic -  very well suited for taking omens, like about weddings, weather, harvest, death and alike. He, who during Christmas dinner sneaked outside and looked through the window, would discover who was a coward and who had to die in the year to come, for this person was sitting by the table without a head or without a shadow. But it was not without a risc to watch this. He might see something shocking and end up being crazy from agitation. This happened to a young guy at Zealand.

Another method was to walk to the churchyard on Christmas midnight and sit upon the church gate with a green turf or some grave mould upon his head. This would make him able to see the shadows of those who had to die in the coming year. This was a most dangerous thing to do. A guy who tried this had his head twisted around. Another guy saw all the shadows, but also someone with a rope around his neck . This was the guy himself who hung himself before the year had gone.  

The grave sow

But there was no security indoors either. If the farm people had forgotten to give a couple of extra sheaves to the gloso (a special staring sow) at the end of the harvest, they would risc that the sinister sow came into the house making lots of ravage on Christmas Eve. The gloso or the grave sow was a giant pig with a knifesharp back with bristly brushes and with staring eyes, announcing death and disaster.

invisible creatures. 1600s

Many ancient stories indicate that some of those supernatural guests were wellknown and expected. In Helsinge parish and in the Århus district the tradition was that the house wife put an extra setting upon the table. At Bornholm and at Zealand the food had to stay on the table on Christmas night and the candles had to burn all night. In some places the residents slept in a bunch of hay on the floor on Christmas night, while the covered beds were empty, ready for the special guests.

Christmas goat

rumble pot

Human Scary Creatures:  Some of the sinister guests were real. Documents from the 1700s tell about the Christmas goat, a dressed-up guy, who was jumping around and goring all people, trying to scare them. A story from the beginning of the 1500s tells about young people running around in "devil's clothes", scaring people and making trouble. The human Christmas ghosts made noise with rumble pots and threw pieces of pots and ash bags on the house doors.  In the end of the 1600s it was forbidden to walk around with the rumble pots  in Copenhagen. But the human scary creatures took the sting out from the terrible supernatural creatures of the Christmas nights by giving them a concrete and harmless form - and there was no risc inviting the human ghosts into the house for a Christmas snaps.






photo from wikipedia and Nordisk folkeliv i det 16 århundrede