Sunday, April 27, 2014

Dancing with Daffodils!

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“And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the Daffodils!”



I have always been memorized with the yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central corona with  bright smiley faces! Each flower is so unique and so different.
The garden Daffodil's ancestors came from the states around the Mediterranean Sea, such as Spain and Portugal and the Middle East, such as Turkey. The earliest record mentioned about Daffodils was around two or three hundred years B.C. They were grown extensively by the ancient Greeks and the Romans. 

Daffodils nevertheless became a forgotten flower until about 1600 and even in 1860, there were fewer than 350 cultivated hybrids.  Around 1629, a group of Englishmen took the Daffodil out of the weeds and put it into the garden. Daffodils were in favor again.  During the days of the American experience and the expansion west, Daffodils were well established as a "must have" in the garden and I want all of them! Daffodils were also brought to Britain by the Romans who thought that the sap from Daffodils had healing powers. Actually the sap contains crystals that can irritate the skin.





Dancing with Daffodils







I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
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When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

~ William Wordsworth









How to pick the right daffodil for you!















Sunday, April 20, 2014

Butterfly Easter


The Butterfly Easter

The butterfly has long been a Christian symbol of the resurrection, for it disappears into a cocoon and appears dead, but emerges later far more beautiful and powerful than before.  The three stages of the butterfly’s metamorphoses are symbolic of the three stages in the life cycle of Christ and the Christian.
 
The caterpillar’s non-stop eating reminds us of normal earthly life where people are often preoccupied with taking care of their physical needs.  The caterpillar’s life also reminds us of Jesus’ life on earth.



Caterpillars then “entomb” themselves in what appears to be lifeless cocoons portraying the crucifixion and burial of Jesus and the death of all humans.

The third and final stage is the appearance of a butterfly with jewel-colored wings and the ability to soar, which represents the resurrection into a new and glorious life free of material concerns and restrictions.
A major theme in Paul’s teachings is that “we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51).  The Christian hope is that what is sown in the grave as a weak mortal body will be raised an indestructible spiritual body not subject to temptation, sorrow, death, or pain (1 Cor. 15:44-54).  Through death the spirit will escape – not from its body but from the vulnerabilities and hardships of mortal flesh.
What better symbol of the Resurrection — an inanimate object out of which
comes life.  Butterflies are the perfect symbol of the tomb Christ conquered and every Christian’s hope of their own rebirth.







Saturday, April 19, 2014

What Does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter?


“Do you know about the tradition of the Easter Bunny and the Easter eggs?”

The Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes. In legend, the Easter bunny brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus (Christmas) as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday.

Rabbits and Hares
The hare was a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times it was widely believed (as by Pliny, Plutarch, Philostratus and Aelian) that the hare was hermaphrodite. The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring in illuminated manuscripts and Northern European paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child. It may also have been associated with the Holy Trinity, as in the three hares motif, representing the "One in Three and Three in One" of which the triangle or three interlocking shapes such as rings are common symbols. 
 
 (Window of Three Hares) in Paderborn Cathedral in Paderborn, Germany.


Easter Eggs
The precise origin of the ancient custom of decorating eggs is not known, although evidently the blooming of many flowers in spring coincides with the use of the fertility symbol of eggs—and eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes. Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red, the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter.

German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.

The idea of an egg-laying bunny came to the U.S. in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws". "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.


“For me, understanding the history and the symbols of a holiday is like a healthy tree with deep roots.”
~Laurel

Was it a Morning Like This?