The Easter Lily and the Dogwood

The flowers that bedeck the church on Easter Sunday are wondrously welcome, after so many months of winter bleakness and Lenten abstinence. In ancient days, church decorations were made from whatever was available at the time of year, hence the holly and the ivy at Christmas. Now, however, we purchase plants and flowers that are greenhouse-grown, since we live in a part of the world where blossoms are seen at limited parts of the year. There are two plants that have traditionally been identified with Easter: the Easter Lily and the Dogwood. We live too far north for these to bloom at Easter, but there are places, even here in America, where these plants are in bloom in early April.

Legends surround these plants, curious in their telling, but interesting enough to look into. It is said that the dogwood, which grows in the Holy Land, was tall and proud. Its trunk was as large around as an oak tree, its wood hard and strong. Near the city of Jerusalem grew an especially lovely dogwood. When Our Lord was to be crucified, the Roman soldiers looked at the tree and decided it would be just the right kind of wood for a cross, so they cut it and used it.

But the dogwood was very sad and ashamed to be put to such a terrible use. The legend continues that Jesus knew that the tree was unhappy and He felt sorry for it. He promised the dogwood that it would never again grow large enough to be used as a cross, and endowed it with a very special blossom which would be a sign to the world of the Lord’s death. That is why the dogwood’s four white petals form the shape of a cross. And on the outer edge of each petal there is a dark red stain, a reminder of the Lord’s blood, poured out at His death. In the center can be found a crown of thorns. This tree and its blossoms now serve as a reminder that Jesus was offered on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

The Easter Lily is said to grow in the Garden of Gethsemane. This pure white lily knew that it was beautiful, and proudly lifted its head to show off a bit. However, on the night before Our Lord was crucified, Jesus came into the quiet of the garden to pray. As He prayed and wept there, the flowers of the garden bowed their heads in pity and sorrow. And so, to honor Jesus and to show its sorrow, the lily has grown with a downward-turned blossom ever since that first Good Friday. We decorate with this particular lily after the solemnity of Good Friday, on Easter Sunday, as it reminds us of a trumpet proclaiming with joy the Lord’s Resurrection.

We don’t limit our decorations to these two blooms, but add others to bring some color and delight to the church which has waited so patiently since Christmas to herald the beauty and the joy of our Faith.