Determination, Radiant Beauty
The white amaryllis, and her red cousin, are two of the most beautiful Christmas flowers. Mythology records that Amaryllis is the heroine of a love story. She began as a shy, timid nymph, and Amaryllis fell deeply in love with Alteo, a shepherd with Hercules’ strength and Apollo’s beauty, but her affections were unrequited. Hoping that she could win him over by bestowing upon him the thing he desired most – a flower so unique it had never existed in the world before – Amaryllis sought advice from the oracle of Delphi.
Following his instructions, Amaryllis dressed in maiden’s white and appeared at Alteo’s door for thirty nights, each time piercing her heart with a golden arrow. When at last Alteo opened his door, there before him was a striking crimson flower, sprung from the blood of Amaryllis’s heart. With this romantic – albeit tragic – tale as its beginning, it’s not surprising that today the amaryllis has come to symbolize pride, determination and radiant beauty. (Story via teleflora.com)
Merry Christmas, dear friends. Thank you for spending a bit of your time here with me. Enjoy these musical treasures, and as is so often repeated in the Scriptures, “Fear not, and sing.”
And, I stumbled across the Best. Men’s. Gospel. Quartet. Evah. Seriously, just watch:
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