Advent customs: Setting up Barbara branches on December 4th

The most important things in brief

• In Advent, nature comes to an almost complete rest, the wintry cold and the snow then take over.
• Now it's especially important that we make ourselves comfortable at home.
• A beautiful Advent custom is to cut off a branch of a cherry tree on December 4th - Barbara's Day.
• Put it in a vase and, with a bit of luck, a few cherry blossoms will sprout until Christmas Eve.

If winter is severe, then Advent is the time when nature freezes. The first frost was often a few weeks ago, and not only are the mountains gleaming white, but there is also a solid blanket of snow in the lowlands. The lakes are frozen and people recover from the cold when they come home in the evening. The warmth of the living room breathes new life into us.

Cut off a cherry branch on Barbara Day

Speaking of new life - there is a beautiful Advent custom that you can use to pass the waiting time for spring in a pleasant way. On December 4th, the feast day of Saint Barbara, many people go out and cut a branch from a cherry tree. Incidentally, it really should be a cherry tree, damson or plum trees and forsythia also work. The tendril of an apple tree, on the other hand, is less suitable. Make sure you get a branch that is already showing some thick and round winter buds.

If the winter up to Barbara Day has been mild and no night frost has yet come over the country, then place the branch in the freezer at home for a few hours. The branches are only prepared for winter after the first frost and are only able to sprout when it gets warmer. And that's what it's all about: the expulsion.

Christmas Eve with cherry blossoms

If you cut the branch at an angle and place it in a large vase, which you fill with lukewarm water (which you should change regularly, by the way), then the chances of celebrating Christmas Eve at home with cherry blossoms are not bad. It looks wonderful, forms a spring-like contrast to the room decorated for Christmas and is supposed to bring luck for the new year, which is also just around the corner.

According to the legend, Saint Barbara, who died under terrible circumstances that we do not want to go into detail here, is said to have guarded a blossoming cherry branch in her dungeon on the day of her execution, even though it was the harshest winter.

A similar custom already existed in ancient Rome

Even the ancient Romans had the nice custom of giving each other branches of the laurel tree in the dead of winter. These symbolized the power of life and should give the recipient a happy new year.

When the cherry branch actually bears blossoms until Christmas Eve, they gently remind us of spring, which still seems so far away. With a bit of luck, the flowers will already smell a bit. If you like room fragrance in general, you will find a nice selection of different aromas here. If you can't make it on December 4th, that's okay, but don't wait too long or the flowers won't sprout until after Christmas.