(a creeping pine tree)
When talking about Greece, pine trees don’t
immediately come to mind although there are plenty of pines amongst the many
other trees on Lesvos, where throughout all seasons the large pinewoods colour
the heart of the island green.
The pine even has a minor role in Greek mythology. The
story is brought to mind of the bandit Sinis who used bent pine trees to
catapult people into the air or alternately split them in half. King Theseus, known as the hero who
killed the Cretan Minotaur, gave Sinis a bit of his own medicine and so the
road to Athens became safe again.
Pan, God of the woods and animals, liked pine trees
and nymphs. One day he fell in love with the wood nymph Pitys, who was already being
courted by Boreas, God of the Northern winds. But because Pan made much less
noise than Boreas and his stormy winds, she choose Pan. Boreas, infuriated by
her decision, let Pitys fall from a high rock. Pan found her lifeless and
changed her into a pine tree. Since then, when the northern winds are blowing,
Pitys cries and her thick tears become the resin that drips from the trees and
which in turn are used for retsina.
Pine resin is used for many other purposes and until
the end of the Sixties resin was still harvested here on the island (see: When
the pine trees still had a face).
Christmas trees also belong to the extended pine tree
family (Pinaceae), but the ones which are used in the West
of Europe for a decorated tree (like a spruce or a fir tree) do not grow on
Lesvos. On the island we mainly find Aleppo pines, black pines, Turkeys pines
and here and there Umbrella pines. Of course those can be used also as a
Christmas tree, although the smaller ones have limp branches with only a few
needles and when decorating the tree it requires great effort to prevent all
the lights and balls from crashing to the ground.
Pinecones, the fruit of the pine trees, are other
beloved Christmas decorations. And there are plenty on the island. They can be
painted gold or silver or just used in their natural colour. They also serve
very well in the barbecue or as kindling for a stove or an open fire. But
before you throw them in the fire, consider that they have taken quite some
time to grow: some of them up to 1.5 to 3 years. I am wondering if that is an
explication why, for two years now, the Umbrella pines around my house have not
produced any pine nuts. Are the pinecones all of the same age, meaning that
they will be ‘born’ in the same year and during the time that they grow, there
will be no pine nuts?
Pine trees have more peculiarities. Like the trees I
used to call creeping pines, in Dutch ‘kruipden’. Officially a ‘kruipden’ is
not a pine tree crawling over the ground, but a Mountain Pine (Pinus mugo):
short pines growing on high mountain slopes. Quite different from the big pine
trees, they, instead of standing tall, creep over the earth or forming
T-junctions in the air with their branches. I have some of these around the
house and seeing them makes you happy: a special kind or a stubborn pine that
perversely grows side ways.
I do understand why the pine tree was a favourite of
Pan: this beautiful tree is stubborn, evergreen and has a lovely fragrance.
When just before Christmas I took a walk to the Pessas waterfalls, I became sad
because there still doesn’t seem to be much running water: the farmer that
illegally drains the water has still not been stopped. But my walk went
straight through pinewoods where you can still see the rusted iron buckets for
the tears of Pitys and thanks to the drizzley weather and the strong perfume of
the trees I got into Christmas mood.
Over Christmas the weather turned beautiful and
temperatures rose. Christmas lunch could be eaten in the sun, sheltered from
the wind, and in the following days you could still adjust your tan in the warm
sunrays. In the nights the moon also contributed to happiness with plenty of
light and you could have very romantic walks in the moonlight, feeling the
landscape turning into a fairy tale, enjoying the pine trees that sparkled as
if they were decorated with candles.
And now we are approaching the second celebration day
of the year. In many countries Epiphany (or the Three Kings) is celebrated, but
in Greece it is also the day on which the priests bless the waters, boats and
seamen (see: Cross
throwing). January 6th is also the day when traditionally all
Christmas trees should be banished from the house and in so doing lose that
great aroma of the pine trees. But even though there are no real Christmas
trees, here on the island there remain plenty of beautiful trees, whose
fragrance we can enjoy: sweet and fresh, a stimulating scent for the new year!
(with thanks to Mary Staples)
@ Smitaki 2013
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