About this mug: I bought this at Hobby Lobby during one of their sales on Christmas stuff this year. Several other mugs were purchased at the same time because I can be a bit compulsive when it comes to mugs. But this one was my favorite among them. I mainly bought it because it was pretty but also because of the cardinal.
Cardinals seem to be quite popular in Christmas decorations. I'm sure it's because their red plumage looks really nice against a green tree or white snow. They also look really nice when they sit in this tree outside my office window. This time of year, I don't see many birds out my window but occasionally the bright red cardinal will catch my eye. While I'm not super crazy about birds, cardinals in Christmas decorations make me smile.
Growing up, I would watch my mom blow kisses at cardinals whenever she spotted one fly into our backyard. I asked her why and she said that, when you saw a cardinal, you're supposed to make a wish and blow a kiss. To this day, she still does this whenever she sees a cardinal.
There are quite a lot of traditions around cardinals. Some say dreaming about the bird is a sign that you are being honest with yourself about who you really are. In some Native American cultures, it's symbolic of devotion and monogamy. Cardinals are also associated with the Holy Spirit. A quick Google search will allow you to see all the significance cardinals have to those who see them. It's really fascinating. I had no idea.
Another tradition around cardinals my mother shared with me is that they are the spirits of loved ones you've lost coming to check in on you. Thinking of this one led me back to Google, not to see who else believes it but to see what kind of migration patterns cardinals have. That may be a strange reaction but it shows a little bit about how my brain works. If you believe that cardinals are spirits saying hello, then what happens when cardinals migrate? Do spirits just not visit during the winter? If there are no cardinals visiting in the winter, then what's with all the Christmas decorations with cardinals?
So I looked up the migration patterns of cardinals. What I found out, thanks to the Audubon Society, was that cardinals don't migrate! At least the Northern Cardinals don't, which are the ones we see around here. They are permanent residents of their area. This made me feel a little warm inside. It means that, if you believe in such things, your loved ones can send you a cardinal any time of year.
So, what am I getting at?
Whether or not you believe that cardinals are visiting loved ones, isn't it nice to think of those loved ones visiting at Christmas? Seeing a cardinal in a Christmas decoration is a reminder to me of those I have lost. Not so much that I've lost them but how much I love them. I can kind of pretend it's my loved one checking in from heaven and I can wish them a Merry Christmas.
