The spring greeting does not seem to fit entirely into the pre-Christmas season – but nevertheless it naturally belongs to Advent. Because when the young branches of fruit trees are cut before December 4th, it is time for Barbara’s branches again.
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If you put it in a vase at home and the buds bloom at Christmas, according to legend and depending on the region, this will bring luck or a wedding in the new year. So the stakes are quite high.
The right branch
So you have three weeks to hope for the best or try your luck as best you can. For Dominik Schreiber from Poysdorfer Baum- und Vine Nursery Schreiber, everything depends on the correct selection of branches: “I recommend trusting the first flowerings. They have lower heat requirements until flowering. Late flowering varieties may not finish flowering until Christmas.”
According to tradition, he recommends cherry branches – but other early bloomers, like apricots, would work well too. He advises against apple branches, no matter how beautiful their flowers are – they bloom late.
Not too old, not too cold
The age of the branches is also crucial, says Schreiber. He advises using young wood: “The buds grow in clusters on two- and three-year-old wood, where the flowers are most beautiful. One-year-old branches also work, as they tend to have individual buds.” But the wood should not be too old, says the expert, because the older the sapling, the less fertile it is.
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Once you’ve selected your Barbara branches, there’s one more thing to consider: not causing temperature shock. “If you cut the branches in very cold weather and the buds are frozen, they should not warm up immediately,” advises Schreiber. And even after that, the vase with the branches should not be left on the cold windowsill – because even extreme temperature changes can delay flowering.
If you pay attention to these points, you will be able to do without other tips and tricks, says the expert. It is not necessary to place the branches in the refrigerator to simulate frost, nor to cut them at an angle.
Saint Saint Saint
Saint Barbara of Nicomedia, who would have lived in what is now Izmit in the 3rd century, is responsible for the custom. Because she was baptized and refused to renounce her Christian faith, she was tortured and sentenced to death.
On the way to the dungeon, her dress reportedly got caught in a cherry tree branch that broke off. She took him with her – but he brought her no luck. Although the branch blossomed, it was the day of its execution. In fact, the executioner was her father, who – karma – was struck by lightning immediately after her decapitation.
If this story is too brutal for you, don’t worry. Like so many things in the church year, this custom dates back to pre-Christian cults – in this case, probably, to the Germanic scepter of life.