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Esther Heins (1908-    ), Rosa arnoldiana, 1978, American. Watercolor. 35.9 x 50.5 cm. Collection of Arabella Leet, MD.

For centuries, the rose, with its deep red flowers and rich, green foliage, has been associated with the season of Christmas. What is known as the Christmas rose is celebrated in song and story. It is the subject of the familiar carol attributed to Michael Praetorius:

Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung . . .
It came, a floweret bright,
amid the cold of winter,
when half spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
the Rose I have in mind;
with Mary we behold it,
the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God's love aright,
she bore to us a Saviour,
when half spent was the night.

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