The motto of the floral industry is "Say It With Flowers", and out of that expression comes a chronicle of human history's experience with agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture. There are trees that mark our seasons by their green leaves, "evergreens", trees that mark our seasons by their changes of color, such as maples, sycamores, elms, tallows and so many other native and nonnative trees. There are nut trees like the native pecans, fruit trees, berry bushes that give us seasonal fruit. Junipers, ferns and ivy vines serve as natural garlands of color and seasonal food for wild birds and back yard critters alike.

        We sing about the traditional Christmas tree, and create garlands of evergreen boughs to decorate our homes, to remind us that even in the dark of midwinter, life continues. If we have a fire place and hearth in our home, a Yule Log serves the tradition of keeping a fire lit during "the longest night" to symbolize a promise that the sun will come tomorrow. Bonfires do the same in fields, kept burning all night to welcome the new day's morning sun. Pomegranates carry on the Greek myth of Persephone and the Persian and Indian seasonal promises of Spring.

        From the kitchen, spices such as cinnamon, cloves and allspice scent the house. Mixtures of apples, dried grapes, plums, apricots and citrus peel form the base of a hot wassail to warm us. Bay laurel wreaths hang on the door to remind us of the glory of the season, and bay leaves punctuate the sauces of roast beef and wild game. Sage is mixed with rice dishes and squash. Beans love a bit of thyme and oregano. The food of winter is the joy and celebration of the fall harvest.

        There are also the spiritual traditions of winter herbs that are often forgotten but so easily accessible to us. Their symbols are as important and represent another aspect of winter we tend to overlook in all the color and lights, the hustle and gift wrapping of the season. These are the seasonal symbols that can be added to a winter feast bouquet, tucked into napkin rings, added to sprays on side tables and tucked into the ribbons tied on presents as extra gifts from the garden. Rosemary represents remembrance for special friends. Lavender is a fragrant scent of the sweetness of life. Horehound is a wish for health. Marjoram is for the joy of the festivities, as is its cousin Oregano. Mint is a reminder of home. Sage speaks of virtue and long life. Thyme is for courage to face the darkness of the long winter nights. All of these can be made into bouquets or tussie-mussies to be given to friends, hung on the door handles of neighbors' front doors, or the bedroom door handles of visiting house guests.

        And there is the story of the three Magi, the three Wise Men and their gifts of "Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh". There is much discussion on whether the "gold" was the metal "gold" or if it was another incense, as are Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) and Myrrh (Commiphora erythraea). Frankincense as an incense was used to purify temples more than 2,000 years ago. It is still used for that purpose today in much of the world. Myrrh as an incense was used to purify the air in clinics, lodges and inns. Today Myrrh is found in mouth wash and tooth paste. The "gold", if it was not the metal is thought to be "Aloeswood." (This is not Aloe Vera, a soft-tissue succulent.) Aloeswood (Aquilaria spc.) is a hard wood that is the most expensive wood in the world. It is still used today as an incense, and a piece of it can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars an ounce, hence its value as "gold". These symbols of the Gifts of the Magi are Gold for Christ the King, Frankincense for Christ the Priest, and Myrrh for Christ the Healer.

        If you are not Christian in your beliefs, the word "incense" denotes a material used to produce a fragrant odor, a perfume from spices and tree gums or resins. Incense is universal, and even regional incense varieties exist, such as "Copal" from Central and South America, members of the pine family along with pinon (Pinus cembroides).

        Find the "Herbs of Winter" from your family's traditions and continue these in your home during the long nights. Bring loved ones and friends together and renew your belief in the coming of the sun, and keep the cold winter away.

Michael Bettler

LUCIA'S GARDEN

2216 Portsmouth

Houston, Texas 77098