Early spring color on Easter Sunday morning in George N. Craig Park in historic Brazil, Indiana. Brazil was founded in 1866. Craig, born and raised in Brazil, was the 39th Governor of Indiana from 1953 until 1957.
I purposely saved my dogwood photos for today, Easter Sunday.
The legend of the dogwood tree
In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
To a stately size and a lovely hue.
‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.
Slender and twisted, it shall be
With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.
All who see it will remember Me
Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
A reminder to all of My agony.”
~ Author unknown
A nice poem, but there is no biblical basis to the legend.
Source: gotquestions.org
Dogwood and Christian lore
Legend has it that the dogwood once grew tall and straight like other trees. The wood from the dogwood was said to have been used to construct the cross Jesus was crucified upon. The dogwood tree was distraught over this particular use and Jesus took pity upon it promising that it would never again be used for crucifixions. Since then, the dogwood tree has grown bent and twisted, unable to reach significant height. The petals of its flowers grew in the shape of the cross, each bearing the reddish mark of a rusty nail. The dogwood, however, has never grown in that part of the world, and the story has roots in the early 20th century.
Source: Theresa Leschmann, a freelance writer for gardenguides.com.
Photo of the Week series: Every Sunday in 2012 I will either share a photo from my archives or something new I just can’t wait to get feedback on for future art shows/exhibits.
Blogger participation: My hope is to receive enough input on each week’s photo to later post a Bloggers’ Choice of the Month and wrap up 2012 with a Bloggers’ Choice of the Year.
Sheila T Illustrated© 
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