National symbol
The oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of many countries. Already an ancient Germanic symbol (in the form of the Donar Oak, for instance), certainly since the early nineteenth century, it stands for the nation of Germany and oak branches are thus displayed on some German coins, both of the former Deutsche Mark and the current Euro currency.[30] In 2004 the Arbor Day Foundation[31] held a vote for the official National Tree of the United States of America. In November 2004, the United States Congress passed legislation designating the oak as America's National Tree.[32]
Other countries have also designated the oak as their national tree including Cyprus (Golden Oak), England, Estonia, France,Germany, Moldova, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United States, Wales, Galicia, Bulgaria, and Serbia.[33]
Oaks as regional and state symbols
The oak is the emblem of County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, as a vast amount of the county was covered in forests of the tree until relatively recently. The name of the county comes from the city of Derry, which originally in Irish was known as Doire meaning oak.National symbol
The oak is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of many countries. Already an ancient Germanic symbol (in the form of the Donar Oak, for instance), certainly since the early nineteenth century, it stands for the nation of Germany and oak branches are thus displayed on some German coins, both of the former Deutsche Mark and the current Euro currency.[30] In 2004 the Arbor Day Foundation[31] held a vote for the official National Tree of the United States of America. In November 2004, the United States Congress passed legislation designating the oak as America's National Tree.[32]
Other countries have also designated the oak as their national tree including Cyprus (Golden Oak), England, Estonia, France, Germany, Moldova, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United States, Wales, Galicia, Bulgaria, and Serbia.[33]
Oaks as regional and state symbols
The oak is the emblem of County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, as a vast amount of the county was covered in forests of the tree until relatively recently. The name of the county comes from the city of Derry, which originally in Irish was known as Doire meaning oak.
The Irish County Kildare derives its name from the town of Kildare which originally in Irish was Cill Dara meaning the Church of the Oak or Oak Church.
Iowa designated the oak as its official state tree in 1961; and the White Oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland. The Northern Red Oak is the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey. The Live Oak is the state tree of Georgia, USA.
The oak is a national symbol from the Basque Country, specially in the province of Biscay.
The coat-of-arms of Vest-Agder, Norway, features an oak tree.
Oak leaves are traditionally an important part of German Army regalia.[citation needed] They also symbolize rank in the United States Armed Forces. A gold oak leaf indicates an O-4 (Major or Lt. Commander), whereas a silver oak leaf indicates an O-5 (Lt. Colonel or Commander).[34] Arrangements of oak leaves, acorns and sprigs indicate different branches of the United States Navy Staff corps officers.[34] Oak leaves are embroidered onto the covers (hats) worn by field grade officers and flag officers in the United States armed services.
If a member of the United States Army or Air Force earns multiple awards of the same medal, then instead of wearing a ribbon or medal for each award, he or she wears one metal representation of an "oak leaf cluster" attached to the appropriate ribbon for each subsequent award.[citation needed]
Political use
The oak tree is used as a symbol by a number of political parties. It is the symbol of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom,[35] and formerly of the Progressive Democrats in Ireland[36] and the Democrats of the Left in Italy. In the cultural arena, the oakleaf is the symbol of the National Trust (UK), The Woodland Trust, and The Royal Oak Foundation.[34]
Religious
In Greek mythology, the oak is the tree sacred to Zeus, king of the gods. In Zeus's oracle in Dodona, Epirus, the sacred oak was the centerpiece of the precinct, and the priests would divine the pronouncements of the god by interpreting the rustling of the oak's leaves.[37]
In Baltic mythology, the oak is the sacred tree of Latvian Pērkons, Lithuanian Perkūnas and Prussian Perkūns.[citation needed] Pērkons is the god of thunder and one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon.
In Celtic polytheism, the name of the oak tree was part of the Proto-Celtic word for 'druid': *derwo-weyd- > *druwid- ; however, Proto-Celtic *derwo- (and *dru-) can also be adjectives for 'strong' and 'firm', so Ranko Matasovic interprets that *druwid- may mean 'strong knowledge'. As in other Indo-European faiths, Taranus, being a Thunder God, was associated with the oak tree.[38] The Indo-Europeans worshiped the oak and connected it with a thunder or lightning god; "tree" and drus may also be cognate with "Druid," the Celtic priest to whom the oak was sacred. There has even been a study that shows that oaks are more likely to be struck by lightning than any other tree of the same height.[39]
Before Christianity spread to Gaul and the British Isles, there were sacred oak grove that acted as major meeting place for druid priests to hold rituals. The oak groves were said to provided protection and power for their magick and spells. The Druids were known to conduct secret religious rituals in oak groves. The mistletoe that grew high in the oak was especially sacred and sent from Heaven by the god who chose the tree as sacred. the Druids would cut the mistletoe with the golden sickle during the a religious ceremony. Anything that grew on the sacred tree was especially revered.
In Anglesey on Mona’s Isle in Wales there stands the “Holy Groves” of the Druids. It is an ancient sacred sight. In AD 60 the Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, determined to break the power of the Celtic druids, attacked the island, destroying the shrine and the sacred oak groves — remnants of the sacred oaks can still be found there.
To the druids, the oak represented doorways to other realms — it was believed to provide protection and shelter when passing through to other realms. It was considered the giver of great powers and was most exalted of all trees by the Druids. Their most spiritual places were in oak groves.
The sacred oak groves of the druids were also a place of ritual sacrifice of animals as part of a ritual feast where the blood of the animal was used to fertilize the oak trees as a libation. The Romans have recorded in their history about human scarifies by the druids by hanging or impaling victims to sacred oak tree as offerings to their gods.
Sir John Rhys, the first professor of Celtic studies at Oxford, speaks of acorn bread as a staple diet of the Celts of Iberia.
In Greek mythology Dryads, faerie-like creatures, lived in oak trees. The Hamadryad, an advanced form of the species, would die if their tree died.
In Norse mythology, the oak was sacred to the thunder god, Thor. Thor's Oak was a sacred tree of the Germanic Chatti tribe. According to legend, the Christianisation of the heathen tribes by Saint Boniface was marked by the oak's being replaced by the fir (whose triangular shape symbolizes the Trinity) as a "sacred" tree.[40]
Thrice on my bossy shield I struck my spear;
And thrice a ghost's shrill voice was heard in air;
The sacred oaks the skirt this sloping wood
Are dead--revive their withered roots with blood;
The blood of foes shall fertilze the plain,
and Odin's spirt feast on heaps of slain.
Hark! now I hear his mighty voice from far--
Rise, sons of Odin, and prepare for war[41]
In the Bible, the oak tree at Shechem is the site where Jacob buries the foreign gods of his people (Gen. 35:4) . In addition, Joshua erects a stone under an oak tree as the first covenant of the Lord (Josh. 24.25–7). In Isaiah 61, the prophet refers to the Israelites as "Oaks of Righteousness".
In Slavic mythology, the oak was the most important tree of the god Perun.
The Irish County Kildare derives its name from the town of Kildare which originally in Irish was Cill Dara meaning the Church of the Oak or Oak Church.
Iowa designated the oak as its official state tree in 1961; and the White Oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland. The Northern Red Oak is the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey. The Live Oak is the state tree of Georgia, USA.
The oak is a national symbol from the Basque Country, specially in the province of Biscay.
The coat-of-arms of Vest-Agder, Norway, features an oak tree.
Oak leaves are traditionally an important part of German Army regalia.[citation needed] They also symbolize rank in the United States Armed Forces. A gold oak leaf indicates an O-4 (Major or Lt. Commander), whereas a silver oak leaf indicates an O-5 (Lt. Colonel or Commander).[34] Arrangements of oak leaves, acorns and sprigs indicate different branches of the United States Navy Staff corps officers.[34] Oak leaves are embroidered onto the covers (hats) worn by field grade officers and flag officers in the United States armed services.
If a member of the United States Army or Air Force earns multiple awards of the same medal, then instead of wearing a ribbon or medal for each award, he or she wears one metal representation of an "oak leaf cluster" attached to the appropriate ribbon for each subsequent award.[citation needed]
Political use
The oak tree is used as a symbol by a number of political parties. It is the symbol of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom,[35] and formerly of the Progressive Democrats in Ireland[36] and the Democrats of the Left in Italy. In the cultural arena, the oakleaf is the symbol of the National Trust (UK), The Woodland Trust, and The Royal Oak Foundation.[34]
Religious
In Greek mythology, the oak is the tree sacred to Zeus, king of the gods. In Zeus's oracle in Dodona, Epirus, the sacred oak was the centerpiece of the precinct, and the priests would divine the pronouncements of the god by interpreting the rustling of the oak's leaves.[37]
In Baltic mythology, the oak is the sacred tree of Latvian Pērkons, Lithuanian Perkūnas and Prussian Perkūns.[citation needed] Pērkons is the god of thunder and one of the most important deities in the Baltic pantheon.
In Celtic polytheism, the name of the oak tree was part of the Proto-Celtic word for 'druid': *derwo-weyd- > *druwid- ; however, Proto-Celtic *derwo- (and *dru-) can also be adjectives for 'strong' and 'firm', so Ranko Matasovic interprets that *druwid- may mean 'strong knowledge'. As in other Indo-European faiths, Taranus, being a Thunder God, was associated with the oak tree.[38] The Indo-Europeans worshiped the oak and connected it with a thunder or lightning god; "tree" and drus may also be cognate with "Druid," the Celtic priest to whom the oak was sacred. There has even been a study that shows that oaks are more likely to be struck by lightning than any other tree of the same height.[39]
Before Christianity spread to Gaul and the British Isles, there were sacred oak grove that acted as major meeting place for druid priests to hold rituals. The oak groves were said to provided protection and power for their magick and spells. The Druids were known to conduct secret religious rituals in oak groves. The mistletoe that grew high in the oak was especially sacred and sent from Heaven by the god who chose the tree as sacred. the Druids would cut the mistletoe with the golden sickleduring the a religious ceremony. Anything that grew on the sacred tree was especially revered.
In Anglesey on Mona’s Isle in Wales there stands the “Holy Groves” of the Druids. It is an ancient sacred sight. In AD 60 the Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, determined to break the power of the Celtic druids, attacked the island, destroying the shrine and the sacred oak groves — remnants of the sacred oaks can still be found there.
To the druids, the oak represented doorways to other realms — it was believed to provide protection and shelter when passing through to other realms. It was considered the giver of great powers and was most exalted of all trees by the Druids. Their most spiritual places were in oak groves.
The sacred oak groves of the druids were also a place of ritual sacrifice of animals as part of a ritual feast where the blood of the animal was used to fertilize the oak trees as a libation. The Romans have recorded in their history about human scarifies by the druids by hanging or impaling victims to sacred oak tree as offerings to their gods.
Sir John Rhys, the first professor of Celtic studies at Oxford, speaks of acorn bread as a staple diet of the Celts of Iberia.
In Greek mythology Dryads, faerie-like creatures, lived in oak trees. The Hamadryad, an advanced form of the species, would die if their tree died.
In Norse mythology, the oak was sacred to the thunder god, Thor. Thor's Oak was a sacred tree of the Germanic Chatti tribe. According to legend, the Christianisationof the heathen tribes by Saint Boniface was marked by the oak's being replaced by the fir (whose triangular shape symbolizes the Trinity) as a "sacred" tree.[40]
- Thrice on my bossy shield I struck my spear;
- And thrice a ghost's shrill voice was heard in air;
- The sacred oaks the skirt this sloping wood
- Are dead--revive their withered roots with blood;
- The blood of foes shall fertilze the plain,
- and Odin's spirt feast on heaps of slain.
- Hark! now I hear his mighty voice from far--
- Rise, sons of Odin, and prepare for war[41]
In the Bible, the oak tree at Shechem is the site where Jacob buries the foreign gods of his people (Gen. 35:4) . In addition, Joshua erects a stone under an oak tree as the first covenant of the Lord (Josh. 24.25–7). In Isaiah 61, the prophet refers to the Israelites as "Oaks of Righteousness".
In Slavic mythology, the oak was the most important tree of the god Perun.