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The Passion-flower long has blowed,
To betoken us signs of the holie rood:
The Michaelmass Dasie among dede weeds,
Blooms for S. Michael’s valorous deeds,
And seems the last of the floures that stood,
Till the feste of S . Simon and S. Ju d e ;
Save Mushrooms and the Fungus race,
That grow till All Hallowtide takes place.
Soon the evergreen Laurel alone is green,
When Catherine crownes all learned menne ;
Then Ivy and Holly berries are seen,
And Yule clog and wassail come round agen.”
AnihoL Bor. et Aus,
• The Roman Catholics have compiled a complete list of
flowers, one for every day in the year, in which each flower has
been dedicated to a particular saint, usually for no better
reason than because it bloomed about the date of the saint’s
feast .day. This Saints’ Floral Directory is to be found in
extenso in Hone’s ‘ Every-day Book.’ In the Anglican church
the principal Festivals or Red Letter Days have, each their
appropriate flowers assigned them, as will be seen from the
following table:—
i! /
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D A T E .
Nov. 30.
Dec. 2 1 .
25-
26.
27.
28.
Jan. I.
6 .
25-
Feb. 2.
24.
Mar. 25.
Apr. 25.
May I.
June I I .
24.
29.
July 25.
Aug. 24.
Sept. 2 1.
29.
Oct. 18.
28.
Nov. I.
SA IN T .
S. Andrew.
S. Thomas.
Christmas.
S. Stephen.
S. John Evan.
Innocents.
Circumcision,
Epiphany.
Conversion of)
S. Paul. f
Purification of \
B. V . M. J
S. Matthias.
Annunciation \
of B. V . M. ;
S. Mark.
S. Philip and
S. James.
S. Barnabas.
S. John Baptist
S. Peter
S. James
S. Bartholomew
S. Matthew
S. Michael.
S. Luke.
S. Simon and
S .Ju d e
All Saints,
A P PR O PR IA T E FLOW ER.
S. Andrew’s Cross—Ascyrum Crux Andrem.
Sparrow Wort—Erica passerina.
Holly— Ilex bacciflora.
Purple Heath—Erica purpurea.
Flame Heath—Erica flaininea.
Bloody Heath—Erica cruenta.
Laurustine—■ Viburnum times.
Screw Moss— Toriula rigida.
Winter Hellebore—Hellebortes hyemalis.
Snowdrop— Galanthus nivalis.
Great Yern—0 s?7iimda regalis.
Marigold— Caleftdula officinalis.
Clarimond Tulip— Tulipa pr(2cox.
Tulip— Tulipa Gesne^Ij dedicated to S. Philip,
Red Campion—Lychnis dioica rubra.
Red Bachelor's Buttons—Lychnis dioica plena^ dedicated
to S. James,
Midsummer Daisy— Chrysanthe7num Ieuca7tthc7num.
S. John’s Wort—Hypericu77i pulch7^U7n.
Yellow Rattle—Rhina7tthus Galli.
Herb Christopher—Actcea spicata.
Sunflower—Helia7ithus a7inutts.
Ciliated Passion-flower.—Passijloi'a ciliata*
Michaelmas Daisy—Aster T7^adescanti.
Fioccose Agaric—Agaricus floccosus.
I Late Chrysanthemum— Ch7ysa7ithemu77i serotmu77i.
} Scattered Starwort—Aster passijlorus^ dedicated to
C S. Jude.
Amaranth.
In old church calendars Christmas E v e is marked “ Templa
exornantm ”—Churches are decked.
Herrick, in the time of Charles I., thus corfibines a number
of these old customs connected with the decoration of churches—
“ Down with Rosemary and Bays,
Down with the Mistletoe,
Instead of Holly now upraise
The greener Box for show.
The Holly hitherto did sway;
Let Box now domineer,
Until the dancing Easter Day
Or Easter’s Eve appear.
Then youthful Box, which now hath grace
Your houses to renew,
Grown old, surrender must his place
Unto the crisped Yew.
When Yew is out, then Birch comes in,
And many flowers beside,
Both of a fresh and fragrant kin,
To honour Whitsuntide.
Green Rushes then, and sweetest Bents,
With cooler Oaken boughs,
Come in for comely ornaments
To re-adorn the house.
Thus times do shift; each thing his turn does hold,
New things succeed as former things grow old.”
In the services of the Church every season has its appropriate
floral symbol. In olden times on Feast days places of worship
were significantly strewed with bitter herbs. On the Feast of
Dedication (the first Sunday in October) the Church was decked
with boughs and strewn with sweet Rushes ; for this purpose Juncus
aromaticus (now known as A corns Calamus) was used.
“ The Dedication of the Church is yerely had in minde,
With worship passing Catholicke, and in a wondrous kinde.
From out the steeple hie is hanged a crosse and banner fayre,
The pavemenf of the temple strowde with hearbes of pleasant ayre ;
The pulpets and the aulters all that in the Church are seene,
And every pewe and pillar great are deckt with boughs of greene,”
T. NaogeorguSy trans. by Barnabe Googe^ IS 70-
It was customary to strew Rushes on the Church floor on all
high days. Newton, in his ‘ Herbal to the B ib le ’ (1587), speaks
of “ Sedge and Rushes, with which many in the country do use in
Summer time to strewe their parlors and Churches, as well for
coolness and for pleasant smell.” Cardinal Wolsey in the pride of
his pomp had the strewings of his great hall at Hampton Cour.t
renewed every day. Till lately the floor of Norwich Cathedral was
strewn with A corns Calamus on festal days, and when the Acorus was