Pinus halepensis, Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem pine,
אורן ירושלים , صنوبر الحلبي and Winter Solstice Celebrations
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| | Scientific name: |
| Pinus halepensis Miller |
| Common name |
| Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem pine |
| Hebrew name: |
| אורן ירושלים |
| Arabic name: |
| صنوبر الحلبي, Sanawbar el hhalab |
| Family: |
| Pinaceae, אורניים |
Date Picture Taken: March 22, 2007
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| | Life form: |
| Phanerophyte, tree |
| Leaves: |
| Alternate, needle |
| Flowers: |
| No petals and tepals |
| Flowering Period: |
| March, April |
| Habitat: |
| Mediterranean maquis and forest |
| Distribution: |
| Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands |
| Chorotype: |
| Mediterranean |
| Summer shedding: |
| Perenating |
Date Picture Taken: August 25, 2006
Derivation of the botanical name:
Pinus, pitys, πιτυϛ, "a pine tree."
halepensis, Aleppo, حلب ['ħalab], a city in northern Syria.
- The standard author abbreviation Miller is used to indicate Philip Miller (1691 – 1771), a botanist of Scottish descent.
The winter solstice (from Latin sol (sun) + stet (standing) is the date of the shortest day, when the sun appears to be at its most southerly.
Both hunter-gatherers and farming communities relied on stored food to see them through the long winters, for many cultures the return of the longer days meant that the plenty of spring was approaching and a reason to celebrate.
The ancients were certainly aware of the movement of the sun.
The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah (also Chanukkah), is also linked to the solstice, being held on the 25th Kislev, three days before the new moon closest to the solstice. The celebration commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes and the rededication of the Temple.
The ancient Egyptians celebrated the rebirth of Osiris on December 21st with his symbolic burial and rebirth as an infant at midnight, the priests bringing the image of a child out of his 'burial chamber'. The ancient Egyptians considered the palm tree to symbolize resurrection. They decorated their homes with its branches during the winter solstice.
The ancient Greeks' celebration followed the Egyptian model, with somewhat more in the way of bloodshed, a man being torn apart by women, representing the end of the harvest god Dionysos, with the promise of rebirth through the offspring of one of the women. The human sacrifice was later replaced with a goat, the women becoming mourners.
Rome originally had several celebrations near this time, including the Saturnalia on 17th December. By the year 50 BCE, the festival ran until the 23rd. This was supplemented by many other feasts, including the birth of gods and demigods such as Mithras, Apollo and Hercules. These different feasts were later merged by the Emperor Aurelian into the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun (Dies Natalis Invicti Solis), celebrated on 25th December.
The Druids held rituals in their sacred groves and performed fertility rites involving mistletoe, Germanic tribes burned their Yule logs and decorated their homes with evergreens, and Scandanavians lit bonfires and held vigils..
Trees were viewed as symbolizing eternal life. The trees joined holly, mistletoe, the wassail bowl and the Yule log as symbols of the season.
All predated Christianity. Many of these rituals are now associated with the 'Christian' festival we know as Christmas, indeed the date was chosen by the Roman church when they 'Christianised' the festival of Saturnalia.
Saturnalia was the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which took place on 17 December.
Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, up to 23 December.
The Romans often cut down evergreens and decorated their "trees with bits of metal and replicas of their god, Bacchus [a fertility god]. They also placed 12 candles on the tree in honor of their sun god" and decorated them to pay homage to Saturn, the god of farming. The Romans also practiced many traditions similar to Christmas; though the "Christmas tree" itself is a later development in the celebration of Christmas.
In the Roman calendar the Winter Solstice fell in this period; in imperial times that event was celebrated in honour of Sol Invictus and put on 25 December by emperor Aurelian in 274, so after the Saturnalia.
There is one theory that says that the Aleppo pine is the original Christmas tree.
The ancient Greeks traditionally cut down an Aleppo pine every year, decorating it with flowers and ribbons in honor of the god Attis, a practice warned against by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah Chapter 10, Verses 2-5).
For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
Jeremiah 10:3-4
The early Christians may have adopted this ritual in the celebration of Christmas, making the Aleppo pine the first 'Christmas tree'.
The Aleppo pine, also known as Jerusalem pine, is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a small to medium-size tree, reaching 15-25 m tall. The leaves ('needles') are in pairs, very slender, mostly 6-10 cm long, The cones are narrow conic, 5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old.
The resin of the Aleppo Pine is used to flavor the Greek wine retsina.
Date Picture Taken: Jume 2, 2007
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