5 Popular Flowers For Christmas And Their Meanings

If you like flowers and want to decorate your home for the holidays, this guide will help you, as we will present you the most popular Christmas flowers and their meanings!

You may also use this article as inspiration if you want to send flowers and chocolate to a dear person.

#5 Christmas Rose

Latin name: Helleborus niger

Note: Christmas Rose is a poisonous flower.

Although it is named Christmas Rose, this beautiful flower doesn’t belong to the Rose (Rosaceae) family.

This evergreen flower is a member of the buttercup family.

The reason why it is called “Christmas Rose” is an old legend about a girl who didn’t have a gift to give to the Christ child, so she cried and her tears fell through snow to the flower which then sprouted, although it was covered with snow.

#4 Mistletoe

Latin name: Viscum album

Note: There are about 1500 species of mistletoe. Some of these are toxic, some are not and some are even used in medicine.

Mistletoe is also a very popular plant for Christmas decorations. It is a member of the Santalaceae family.

Although it looks very similar to Holly which is ranked #1 on this list, Mistletoe has a different meaning.

It is a Christmas decoration under which lovers are expected to kiss. In some European countries people believe that a couple that kisses under a Mistletoe will marry and stay in love forever.

Mistletoe is so popular that is was referenced in many books, movies and songs.

It was referenced in Harry Potter books in songs by Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Cliff Richard and many other artists.

Some people also believe that Mistletoe protects them from demons and witches.

#3 Poinsettia

Latin name: Euphorbia pulcherrima

Note: Poinsettia was believed to be toxic to humans and animals, but it was later proven that it is not. You can read more about the toxicity of this flower at Wikipedia.

Poinsettia is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family and it is one of the most popular christmas flowers, especially in Central America where poinsettias grow naturally.

These pink blooms that you may see on the photo above are actually not flowers, but just pink leaves and that is an important fact for the legend about Poinsettia which is similar to the one about Christmas Rose.

It is a story about two small kids who couldn’t afford to bring a gift to their church for Christmas, so they just picked some weeds and brought that.

The other kids ridiculed them because of their gift and then God intervened by turning their weeds into beautiful red leaves.

There are red, white, pink, purple, yellow, orange and salmon Poinsettias.

#2 Amaryllis

Latin name: Hippeastrum

Amaryllis is a beautiful flower that is often used for Christmas decorations.

It belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family.

Usually Amaryllis flowers are white, but there are also purple and pink Amaryllis.

In Greek mythology Amaryllis symbolises confidence and pride.

#1 Holly

Latin name: Ilex

Note: Eating Holly leaves, berries and plants can cause diarrhea and vomiting. Consuming more than 20 Holly berries can even be fatal for kids. So be careful as these berries may be attractive to kids.

Holly is probably the most popular flower for Christmas decor. People use it since the time of ancient Druids (2400+ years ago) and believe that it symbolises everlasting life.

Christians believe that Holly symbolises the promise about everlasting life that Jesus gave.

Some Christians also believe that Holly’s leaves symbolise the crown of thorns that Jesus worn and that Holly’s berries symbolise drops of Jesus’ blood.

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