Published by

Karl

My mother has always had a creative knack for Christmas decorations.

This year, there is no Christmas tree in her home.

Instead, there is a flower.

An Amaryllis stands quietly in her living room. A thick green stem, two red buds, slowly opening. She showed it to me with pride and called it her Christmas flower.

The flower is commonly called Amaryllis, although botanically it is a Hippeastrum, a South American bulb that blooms right around Christmas.

I had never heard of a Christmas flower before. Trees, lights, ornaments, yes. But a flower?

When I look at it then it does have a Christmassy look and feel to it.

It grows from a bulb that waits patiently beneath the soil, storing energy, doing nothing visible, until the moment is right. And then it opens.

Sometimes, Christmas does not need to be created with a traditional Christmas tree.

This time it only needs space to bloom.

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