Die Heilige Barbara
The Legend and the Custom
The patron saint of miners, artillerymen and firemen, die Heilige Barbara
(St. Barbara, d. 306), has lent her name to an interesting Germanic
Christmas custom that surely has its roots (literally) in pre-Christian
pagan times. But the legend of her martyrdom seems to have originated
around the 7th century. Officially, she is one of the 14 Auxiliary
Saints or Holy Helpers.
The feast day of Saint Barbara is December 4th, and it is this
date that plays a key role in the interesting custom that bears the name
of this virgin martyr. According to legend, Barbara lived in Asia Minor
in what is today Turkey. Her father was the pagan emperor Dioscorus, a
suspicious, untrusting fellow who persecuted Christians and kept his
daughter a virgin by locking her up in a tower whenever he was away.
One day upon returning home, Dioscorus noticed that the tower where
he kept his daughter under lock and key now had three windows instead of
two. Puzzled, he asked her why she had added a window in his absence.
Barbara then made the mistake of confessing that she had become a
Christian, and the three windows represented the trinity of her new
faith. Incensed, her father demanded that she renounce this heresy.
After some time had passed and she still stubbornly refused to deny her
new religion, her father commanded that she be tortured and beheaded.
The legend further says that immediately following this gruesome event,
Dioscorus was struck dead by lightning (which may explain why St.
Barbara is often invoked during thunderstorms).
Another important element of the
Barbara-Legende concerns
her imprisonment, and led (so they say) to the Christmas custom that
bears her name. Depressed and alone in her cell, Barbara found a dried
up cherry tree branch which she moistened daily with a few drops from
her drinking water. She was greatly consoled by the beautiful cherry
blossoms that appeared just days before her impending execution.
The Barbara Branch Custom
Traditionally in the German-speaking countries, particularly in
Austria and the Catholic regions of Germany, a small cherry branch is
cut off and placed in water on December 4th,
Barbaratag (St.
Barbara’s Day). Sometimes a twig from some other flowering plant or tree
may be used: apple, forsythia, plum, lilac, or similar blossoms. But it
is the cherry tree that is most customary and authentic.
The cherry branch (
Kirschzweig) or other cutting is then
placed in water and kept in a warm room. If all goes well, on Christmas
day the twig will display blossoms. If it blooms precisely on December
25th, this is regarded as a particularly good sign for the future.
There isn't a cherry tree around from which I can even "borrow" a branch! But as said, many times a substitute branch is used. Hope you enjoyed learning a bit about this Germanic holiday custom! Thanks for dropping in. I've been posting holiday customs since December first and plan to continue a daily post each day until Christmas, come back often if you can!
