# Cardinals and Christmas



## debodun (Oct 3, 2016)

I noticed a lot of the Christmas cards I have depict cardinals (not the religious kind, the avian ones). It made me think - how did cardinals become associated with Christmas?


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 3, 2016)

Some people believe that the cardinal is a symbol of the living blood of Christ.

My mother always believed that when a cardinal showed up in the yard it was the spirit of a loved one that had come back for a visit.


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## Carla (Oct 3, 2016)

Aunt Bea said:


> Some people believe that the cardinal is a symbol of the living blood of Christ.
> 
> My mother always believed that when a cardinal showed up in the yard it was the spirit of a loved one that had come back for a visit.



I never heard that before. Interesting.


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## Cookie (Oct 3, 2016)

Cardinals are red and stick around all year round, so at Christmas, this red bird is very visible.


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## Lynk (Oct 3, 2016)

Aunt Bea said:


> Some people believe that the cardinal is a symbol of the living blood of Christ.
> 
> My mother always believed that when a cardinal showed up in the yard it was the spirit of a loved one that had come back for a visit.


I have heard of that .  Try are plentiful around my yard.  They land on my deck a lot.  I like to think it'my husband and other family members coming for a visit.


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## Butterfly (Oct 3, 2016)

Lynk said:


> I have heard of that .  Try are plentiful around my yard.  They land on my deck a lot.  I like to think it'my husband and other family members coming for a visit.



I've never heard the thing about the cardinals, either.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Oct 7, 2016)

My gramma said cardinals are loved ones who've died come to visit. If it's a male, my dad, one of my grandfathers or uncles, my son, or my husband. If it's a female, my mom, one of my grandmothers or aunts, my daughter-in-law. Nobody ever mentions the females, but it makes sense to me☺


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## Ruth n Jersey (Oct 7, 2016)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> My gramma said cardinals are loved ones who've died come to visit. If it's a male, my dad, one of my grandfathers or uncles, my son, or my husband. If it's a female, my mom, one of my grandmothers or aunts, my daughter-in-law. Nobody ever mentions the females, but it makes sense to me☺



I have never heard of this. I love watching the cardinals in my yard but this will make them even more special to me.


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## jujube (Oct 7, 2016)

I'm having a "cardinal tree" this year for Christmas.  I got rid of the big tree and the ornaments last year and this year I have a small tree with clear lights and I'm going to decorate it with nothing but little red cardinals that I found at Dollar Tree.  Hope I like the finished product.  If not, it was a minor outlay of $$$.


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