LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS ROSE

[Carol Anne Kincaid~Paradis]

Legend Of The Christmas Rose

Christmas is the season of giving gifts, thereby, showing love towards one another. This does not mean that the gifts are the sole expression of your love. No gift is costlier or more valuable than something that that comes straight from the heart even if the gift in question is inconsequential. The tradition of gifts during Christmas originated from the kind gestures of the three Wise Men who brought expensive presents for the Infant Jesus to welcome him into this world. Since then, people have made gifts a mandate for Christmas. But, this must be remembered, as the legend of Christmas Rose will show you, that the gesture counts more than the gift. Perhaps, this legend originated just to teach people that, no matter what you gift, it must be from the heart and soul - even if the gift in question is just a flower. It is owing to this legend that the Christmas rose, the flower which only blooms during the chill of winter, has become an important part of Yuletide celebrations.

The Legend
On a cold December night, everybody was coming to see their new Savior and brought Him all kinds of gifts and presents. The three Wise Men came in with their valuable gifts of myrrh, frankincense and gold and offered them to Baby Jesus. At that point, a shepherdess, Madelon, who had seen the wise men passing through, reached the door of the stable, to see the Child. However, being very poor and having brought nothing to offer to the child, she felt helpless and started weeping quietly at the sight of all the wonderful gifts that the Three Wise Men had got for the child. Earlier, she had searched, in vain, for flowers all over the countryside but there was not even a single bloom to be found in the bitter winter.

The Christmas rose is not a rose and it does not flower at Christmastime in many regions. This plant, which has beautifully nodding, pale white flowers, blooms around Christmas in mild, warm areas, and makes attractive green ground covering during other seasons.

The Christmas rose plant is steeped in holiday history and superstition. It gets its name from a story when a young shepherd girl wanted to see the newborn Christ in Bethlehem but didn't have a gift for the baby until an angel appeared, took pity on her, and touched the ground near her. Suddenly, a Christmas rose appeared as the gift she could bring on her visit. Because of this folklore legend, the plant is often planted or placed near a home's entryway to ward off evil spirits.   This mysterious blooming plant that is also toxic to humans and pets

An angel outside the door was watching over her and knew about her fruitless search. He took pity on her and, when he saw her head drooped down in sorrow, decided to help her with a little miracle. He gently brushed aside the snow at her feet and where her tears had fallen, sprang a beautiful cluster of waxen white winter roses with pink tipped petals. Then he softly whispered into the shepherdess's ear that these Christmas roses are far more valuable than any myrrh, frankincense or gold, for they are pure and made of love. The maiden was pleasantly surprised when she heard those words and joyfully gathered the flowers and offered them to the Holy Infant, who, seeing that the gift was reared with tears of love, smiled at her with gratitude and satisfaction. Thus, the Christmas rose came to symbolize hope, love and all that is wonderful in this season.

Try to solve it yourself.

Sometimes, your angels appear to have abandoned you because they are waiting for you to try and solve the problem yourself. This is not something that anyone enjoys, but even angels practice tough love on those occasions when you really need a kick in the pants. Do not think that this means the angels have abandoned you to flounder helplessly. Even when your angels are making you solve something yourself, you are not alone. They are there with you and will help you if you truly need it. They will not, however, complete the task for you. If you feel like you are sinking, know that the angels will keep your head above water. They will not let you drown, but you are responsible for swimming to shore. If you can tell that your angels are present and listening, but they seem to be holding back on open assistance, it might be a sign that this is a problem you need to face yourself.

Angels are always there for you, but sometimes, you need to reach out to them rather than wait for them to come to you. They are always happy and able to help, but if it seems like they have been silent for too long, you need to make sure to invite them into your life and ask for their assistance. That may be all you need to do to earn some heavenly guidance and assistance in your life.

Sometimes it seems the world is out of control. I want to fix it, but I can't. Dear Lord , give me the faith to trust you to  take

care of things outside my control.

Lord , give me the faith  to trust you to

 take care of things outside my control.

You can't calm the storm. What you can do is calm yourself, and the storm will gradually pass. So do your best to breathe when negativity surrounds you today. Let calmness be your superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things too personally keeps your mind clear and your heart at peace, which ultimately gives you the upper hand.