St. Barbara's feast day Dec 4

 St Barbara’s Day Branches (4th of December)

Today is the Feast of St. Barbara and there’s a lovely tradition around bringing in a piece of cherry tree and watch it bloom in time for Christmas. I’ve heard about it over the years but last year I did it and will do it again this year.

It is still popular in parts of Germany and in pockets of Europe and North America. The general idea is that you bring in a cutting from a cherry tree (and in some cases other fruit trees and hazel) and leave them inside where it will hopefully blossom on Christmas Day.

In the past it was tradition in Germany to bring in a whitethorn and water it and it too would blossom. These are all related to our Christmas tree, holly, ivy traditions in the way of having something alive in your home in the depths of Winter when the sun was at it's lowest in the year. The whitethorn would be a complete no-no in Ireland though, as you’d be ran if you tried to bring a whitethorn blossom into the house as it was a seen as bad luck.

There is a lot of stories about St. Barbara but a common one tells us that when Barbara was being brought to her prison cell a piece of cherry tree snagged in her cloak and it blossomed the day she was killed. I like the story and I like the idea so will see what happens. Traditions move and shape and evolve as people embrace them and here is a prime example. I’ll cut five pieces as there are five of us in our home and will watch them blossom in time for Christmas.

Attached from Christmas Day.

Text: Michael Fortune