Can
you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
December 23, 2020.
And
the answer is....
(The leaves of
American holly were a December 2018 What is it Wednesday feature,
posted here on the blog earlier this month.)
American holly is a native broad-leaved evergreen. The
combination of bright green leaves and bright red berries during the dark days
of winter have made holly a popular Christmas decoration from nature. Other
native holly species in Pennsylvania, like winterberry and mountain
winterberry, are deciduous, losing their leaves in winter but keeping their
bright red berries.
Deer, squirrels, birds, and other animals will eat holly
berries with no ill effects, but the berries are toxic to people and pets.
While adults would need to eat 20-30 berries before showing any illness, children
can become sick after eating as few as 5 berries. If you decorate with holly
berries be sure to do so in a place where children and pets can’t get to them.
Holly trees have a rich history of symbolism. In Celtic
mythology, oak ruled over the light months, while holly ruled over the dark
months. Cutting down holly trees was bad luck, but hanging holly branches in
the house was said to bring good luck. Ancient Romans saw holly as the symbol
of Saturn, and holly branches were used to celebrate the festival of saturnalia
leading up to the winter solstice. Christians have adopted the holly tree as a
symbol for Christmas. The sharp leaves are said to symbolize the crown of
thorns worn by Christ, while the berries represent his blood. The evergreen
quality of the tree is metaphoric for eternal life.
Merry Christmas from LEEP to all of you! May your holidays
be full of delight in God’s creation and incarnation.
American holly is a native broad-leaved evergreen. The
combination of bright green leaves and bright red berries during the dark days
of winter have made holly a popular Christmas decoration from nature. Other
native holly species in Pennsylvania, like winterberry and mountain
winterberry, are deciduous, losing their leaves in winter but keeping their
bright red berries.
Deer, squirrels, birds, and other animals will eat holly
berries with no ill effects, but the berries are toxic to people and pets.
While adults would need to eat 20-30 berries before showing any illness, children
can become sick after eating as few as 5 berries. If you decorate with holly
berries be sure to do so in a place where children and pets can’t get to them.
Holly trees have a rich history of symbolism. In Celtic
mythology, oak ruled over the light months, while holly ruled over the dark
months. Cutting down holly trees was bad luck, but hanging holly branches in
the house was said to bring good luck. Ancient Romans saw holly as the symbol
of Saturn, and holly branches were used to celebrate the festival of saturnalia
leading up to the winter solstice. Christians have adopted the holly tree as a
symbol for Christmas. The sharp leaves are said to symbolize the crown of
thorns worn by Christ, while the berries represent his blood. The evergreen
quality of the tree is metaphoric for eternal life.
Merry Christmas from LEEP to all of you! May your holidays be full of delight in God’s creation and incarnation.
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on
Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when
they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
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