Passover was Friday, today is Easter, and this brings up a whole new discussion about tradition - this time revolving around blooming trees here.
In one of the recent blogs I talked about going for a spring walk on Mt. Mitchell Golf Course-before opening day- with my octogenarian friend after church one Sunday (but shhhh...I think that's off limits.) My friend's family and her husband's family have owned their land here for 7 generations. It is all now deeded to their children - the 8th generation. The multi-generational family who sold "part" of their land to what is now this acclaimed golf course, were also founders - along with my walking buddy - of our church. As we discussed all of this history and the "ties that bind" after service, it somehow led into a discussion of the blooms outside the windows - the blooms the Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for in spring, what various names are given to the trees and how this all ties into our religious traditions.
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| Local name: Sarvis, Other Names: Service, Service berry |
My question was specifically about the prolific white blooming trees - everywhere all over these mountains now - growing wild. Are these all wild dogwood? My friend said no, they are mostly sarvis trees. Another generational local in the church said she had just learned that "we" had been using the Appalachian vernacular, that they are really called service trees, more specifically service berry trees. One of the men explained that it was a toss-up whether the local term, "sarvis" is really a dialectical mispronunciation of service or yet another example of old Shakespearean English that is still so prevalent among the "old timers" here - and a spin-off of the sorbus tree. Or, some say the name "service" comes from this time of year - Easter - when the trees would bloom exactly at the time of Easter services. Others say it is because tent revivals were held around this season, and the blooms coincided with those services.
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| Dogwood tree - North Carolina State Flower |
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| Close-up of the Dogwood Flower - official NC State Flower |
Interestingly enough, the wild dogwood (North Carolina's state flower) is also blooming now. It is difficult for me to tell the two apart from a distance. The dogwood also has Christian symbolism and legend tied to it - also coinciding with Easter. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about that:
"
Many Christians consider the flowering dogwood's showy cross-like
inflorescences ("flowers") to be religious symbols, due to their four
white petal-like bracts bearing red dots on their tips; these trees are often
in flower during the springtime Easter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Christian tradition claims the dogwood as the
tree used to make the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and further, that
dogwoods grew taller and broader until the 1st Century AD, making them suitable
for use as crosses. In response to Jesus's death on one, God permanently stunted
the growth of the dogwood species to prevent them ever again being used for the
same purpose. Today, very few dogwood specimens would provide sufficient wood
to manufacture a cross by the primitive means of the 1st Century AD.''
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| Cherry blossoms on The Cove at Celo Mountain |
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| Cherry trees around one of the trout ponds within THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN |
Oh, and then there are cherry trees with white blooms on THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN as well. I will never forget driving a friend along the road by these as the petals cascaded down on the car. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. All the friend could say was, "Oh, this is so beautiful!"
I love the land, the stories, the dialect, but - most of all - the salt-of-the-earth people here.
Come spend a few days with us enjoying the most gorgeous spring imaginable in this sanctuary setting we call THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN, just off America's Favorite Drive - the Blue Ridge Parkway - and a part of the Pisgah National Forest. Spend time getting to know our hometown people on one of our special visit packages that includes lodging at one of our historic bed-and-breakfasts and dining at the award-winning farm-to-table Knife and Fork restaurant. Come back home to the natural beauty and simple goodness of small-town America. Your mountain, your heritage awaits you.
Call 866-378-4769 to book your accommodations and pick your home site or Cabin at Celo
For more information: THE COVE AT CELO MOUNTAIN
Background information for trees:
Further reading:
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