Environment

Why are there robins on Christmas cards? Readers’ nature queries

Your Yuletide notes and queries for Eanna Ní Lamhna

Robin: postmen in Victorian England wore red uniforms and were thus nicknamed robins

Éanna Ní Lamhna's face
Éanna Ní Lamhna
Sat Dec 18 2021 - 06:00

Why are there robins on Christmas cards? – Maggie Califf, Clogherhead, Co Louth
A good question. seeing as how robins are terribly belligerent birds and can't bear other robins except during the breeding season. Postmen in Victorian England wore red uniforms and were thus nicknamed robins and so represented on the Christmas cards they delivered.

Mistletoe in the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin

Why do we have to buy mistletoe? Does it not grow in Ireland? – Paddy Slevin, Cavan
Mistletoe is an evergreen semi-parasite of trees, native to Britain and continental Europe. It is a rare garden escape here and can be found on apple trees in orchards in Carlow.

Wren, claimed the title of king of the birds

Why was the wren traditionally hunted on St Stephen's Day? What harm did it ever do? – Sive O Shea (10)
One of our most common birds (there are more than six million in Ireland), the wren was traditionally thought to be a real sneak. It cheated its way to winning the "who could fly the highest" competition by hiding under the eagle's feathers and then flying higher, thus claiming the title of king. And it betrayed St Stephen by dancing on a drum and awakening the Roman soldiers, who then captured and martyred him.

Holly: was one of the few leafy things in the surrounding deciduous forests.

Why do we bring in holly at Christmastime? – Caitriona Maloney, Dublin
As a mark of respect to the pagan sun god Lugh. It dates from Neolithic times, when measurements in places such as Newgrange showed that the sun was beginning to rise again in the sky after the winter solstice. Holly was one of the few leafy things in the surrounding deciduous forests.

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Reindeer. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

Are there reindeer in Ireland? – James Glynn (7)
There used to be at the end of the last ice age, when they grazed the tundra-like landscape. As it warmed up and forests grew, they moved further north. But Rudolph and Olive (the other reindeer) always return to lead Santy's team of reindeer across Ireland on Christmas Eve.

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