Christmas Rosemary was used during the Middle Ages by housewives to spread on the floor at Christmas. As people walked on it, a pleasant aroma arose. Tradition has it that the shrub is fragrant because Mary laid the garments of the Christ Child on its branches.
By Christmas symbols we mean the various objects that bring the remembrance of deep convictions related to Christianity. And there are numerous such symbols in Christianity that serves the purpose. Many Christmas emblems convey different religious messages that actually Jesus Christ wanted to convey to the mankind.
In the late 1700s a special Christmas Rosemary Service was started in Ripon Cathedral School where a red apple, with a sprig of Rosemary in the top of it, was sold by the school boys to the members of the congregation for 2p, 4p or 6p (depending on the size of apple!).
Another interesting holiday legend pertains to the cherry tree. On December 4, St. Barbara’s Day, young unmarrieds should cut a cherry tree branch and put it in water. Whoever’s cherry branch blooms on Christmas day will marry within the next year.
If your weather is unseasonably warm, or you are lucky enough to see the topiaries within the first day or so of their arrival to the retail store, you may be lucky enough to get a healthy rosemary. It is also known as the remembrance herb and was used at Christmas as this is the time that we remember the birth of Jesus.