The winter holiday season can bring its fair share of agitation and melancholy. Finding the right gift, attending family dinners, going around the shops: it may not seem like it, but all these events can be a source of stress, in a period in which we would just stay warm and find inner serenity.
In this new article, I will recommend some plants to live the winter more peacefully.
Plants for the winter
Winter is a suggestive season. Most of the trees lose their leaves, the outline branches rise towards the sky and the frost cloaks everything in a veil of impalpable ice. It is a period of end, which brings with it a new rebirth.
The cold and snow are what make this season truly magical, but at the same time, they are what takes us away from the greenery of nature for a few months. However, even in such a “hostile” period, there are plants that resist fearlessly. Some of these plants are hellebore, winter jasmine, honeysuckle, and poinsettia, excellent for creating a protective circle around yourself and amplifying the scope of your desires.
A bouquet of honeysuckle and jasmine next to the bed will help you banish unhealthy thoughts from sleep. The hellebore petal in a small bag hanging around your neck will allow you to bring out the right tenacity to face the start of a new year. A small poinsettia at home will be useful for the well-being and good mood of your family.
But let’s explore the history and magic of these plants in more detail.
Magical herbs and plants for winter
Resistant, strong, and self-confident, plants that live and grow in winter have always been a symbol of determination and life. Let’s see together some of their main features.
Hellebore
Hellebore is also known as Christmas Rose due to the peak flowering it reaches during the Christmas period. It resists well to harsh climatic conditions and snow. It produces flowers with different shades, from white to dark pink, purple, yellow, and violet.
If ingested, it can be very poisonous. In ancient times it was used as a hallucinogen, believed capable of evoking the spirits of the afterlife; it was also believed that witches used it in potions as an elixir of youth and to become invisible.
In Germany, it was known as “black sneezing root”, since any part of it, if ground into a fine powder, induces sneezing. This ability of the plant was exploited to induce sneezing which would allow the body to expel demons and diseases.
In England it was called the “oracle rose”: on the night of Christmas Eve, twelve hellebore buds were placed in a glass of water, one for each month of the coming year; during that night, the buds were kept under observation. If a bud opened, the weather in the corresponding month would be good. On the contrary, buds that remained closed meant possible bad weather.
Today, only its roots are used in remedies to treat cardiovascular problems.
Winter jasmine
Winter jasmine, or St. Joseph’s jasmine, is the variety that best resists the cold, its yellow flowers appear between January and February.
In the language of flowers, jasmine has several meanings. In Spain it symbolizes sensuality, in Arab countries it symbolizes divine love, while in Italy it is synonymous with good luck. Furthermore, its yellow color is a wish for happiness and represents elegance and grace.
A plant already known in Ancient Egyptian times, the belief that paradise smells of this plant is still widespread in Arab countries today.
The jasmine infusion has an antioxidant and digestive effect; however, its use is not recommended for those suffering from insomnia and nervous problems as it contains both theine and caffeine, as well as for those with gastric disorders as it could excessively stress the stomach’s activity. The flowers were used already in ancient times to calm headaches and provide relief in case of severe menstrual pain.
Honeysuckle
Lonicera, better known as honeysuckle, is a genus of plants composed of climbing shrubs, appreciated for its resistance to low temperatures.
It has a history rich in symbolic meaning and a strong cultural presence. It is often associated with positive symbolic meanings, such as love, beauty, and prosperity. In Chinese tradition, honeysuckle represents positive energy and family harmony.
It is among the flowers indicated for those who face the present with difficulty. In particular, it is aimed at those individuals who experience the past with nostalgia and regret for lost opportunities. It is no coincidence that this flower, as soon as it is born, remains attached to the mother plant, which represents the past, and has difficulty growing if separated and transplanted.This plant has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and emollient properties.
Poinsettia
The poinsettia is an ornamental plant from Mexico. It is a plant that does not particularly like light and in the wild it can even reach 4 meters in height.
The birth of the poinsettia is told in several legends. The most famous is an Aztec story that tells how this plant was the result of an unhappy love story. It is said that the blood that came from the broken heart of an Aztec goddess created this plant, coloring its flowers bright red. The ancient Aztecs extracted the red pigment from its leaves to color fabrics and used it in cosmetics. Precisely because of its divine origin, it was considered an almost sacred plant, a symbol of purity and good omen for the future.
Let yourself be overwhelmed by the cold
The beauty of the seasons is the air of change they bring with them. If spring opens our hearts, summer fills us with good vibes and autumn prepares us for fall, winter is the perfect time for regeneration.
And then perhaps we should try to let ourselves be overwhelmed by its cold embrace, accept the past, and concentrate all our efforts on the present, to move towards the future with greater harmony.
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