After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh
But have you heard the Legend of the Dogwood? I don’t remember who first told me when I was a young teen that the rusty looking stains on the four petals of the dogwood blooms represented the blood of Jesus, but I do remember studying the blooms and thinking about that symbolism.
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver
But later I heard more about the rest of the legend and read the poem below that some think began the legend many years ago. Perhaps it was written by the unknown author because he or she was told the legend.
The legend says the cross Jesus was crucified on was a dogwood tree that at that time grew tall and big like an oak tree. But the tree was so distraught at being used in the death of Jesus that Jesus had pity on it. He made it grow small and twisty so that it could never be used in such a way again and then marked its beautiful blooms with the nail prints and bloodstains. Even the center has the symbolism of being the crown of thorns.
The Legend of the Dogwood Tree
Unknown Author
When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew
To a towering size with a lovely hue.
Its branches were strong and interwoven
And for Christ’s cross its timbers were chosen
Being distressed at the use of the wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Not ever again shall the dogwood grow
To be large enough for a tree”, and so
Slender and twisted it shall always be
With cross-shaped blossoms for all to see.
The petals shall have bloodstains marked brown
And in the blossom’s center a thorny crown.
“All who see it will think of Me,
Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.
Protected and cherished this tree shall be
A reflection to all of My agony.”
The legend doesn’t have any Biblical basis. The dogwood tree is not mentioned in the Bible. The type of tree the cross was from is not named. But that doesn’t keep the story or legend from making a person look at the blooms and think about Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. As the George Washington Carver up at the top of this post says, God speaks to us through nature all the time. We just have to tune in.
Have you ever heard the legend of the dogwood?
Comments 18
Yes, my precious mama cross stitched it and my papa framed it and it hangs in my house. Thank you for sharing.
Author
What a treasure, Lucy. A great memory for you.
I’ve heard the legend of the dogwood tree before, but I’d never before heard the poem you included. Thank you for sharing this, as well as the wonderful quotation attributed to George Washington Carver.
My mother was born and raised in California, and she lived there all her life. She loved to see the blossoming dogwood trees in the springtime, but I don’t think she’d ever heard the legend about Christ’s cross being made from a dogwood. I can still hear her saying how much she loved seeing the dogwood blossoms turning their faces upward toward Heaven. Now, she’s in Heaven herself!
Author
That’s a sweet memory, Roberta, about your mother loving the dogwood blooms and thinking about how they turned their bloom faces toward heaven.
I liked the George Washington Carver quote too and often think of the blessings I gain and the lessons I can learn from nature.
I like the Legend of the Dogwood Tree which I never heard before. Copying the poem for my journal. Thanks so much for sharing.
Author
I love journaling, Loretta. So fun that you want to keep this poem in your journal. Some unknown writer is still blessing us with his or her words.
I have this poem in my scrapbook. I have had several dogwood trees but the died and I never planted another one, but I sure miss them. They are so pretty along the highway in the spring.
Author
This is a good poem to do scrapbooking, Donna Jean. I bought things once and planned to make my mother a scrapbook of my wildflower pictures after she was older, but alas, I never did it. The scrapbooking stuff is still around here somewhere. One of those maybe someday projects.
I love seeing the dogwood blooms out among the trees in the fields.
No I have never heard it before. Thank you for sharing it. The legend and poem have made me look at dogwoods a little differently. I have always loved them and tried a few times to grow them in my yard without success. You teach me something new with your words, which I love.
Author
So glad you enjoyed the post, Pamela. I’d written about the dogwood legend in the past, but had never looked up the poem.
I have a dogwood tree in my yard, but the ones out in the field bloom more robustly.
I’ve heard the legend many times, but never heard or read the poem. Thank you for sharing!
The dogwoods are beautiful right now, along with the redbuds, which are plentiful in Kentucky this spring.
Author
It is dogwood season, Lavon, especially for the wild dogwoods. The tame ones bloom earlier and fade earlier. I do think we’re having some dogwood winter right now. It’s chilly.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
I love the dogwood story and have used it occasionally for Easter Sunday school lessons (with the clarification that it’s not found in the Bible).
Author
But it can be fun to imagine things like this, Diana, even though they aren’t completely factual. It helps us to think and I’m sure your Sunday school students enjoyed the thoughts of the legend.
I never heard that story before- thank you for sharing!
Author
Glad you enjoyed reading about the dogwood legends, Cheryl. It’s amazing how we can see Gospel lessons in so many things.
No, I never heard of the legend of the dogwood tree before. I like it, though, and will remember it now. Thank you, Ann
Author
Glad you enjoyed reading about the dogwood legends, Ann. Thanks for dropping by to read my post.