“Christmas Plants: Marketing, Myths, Parasites, and Cacti”

“Christmas Plants: Marketing, Myths, Parasites, and Cacti”
A lecture by biologist Alexey Sivukhin

You are invited on a journey into the world of Christmas plants.

Christmas and New Year are warm, family-centered winter holidays, and winter is the season when we especially crave comfort and beauty. Beyond the traditional Christmas tree and its close relatives, the list of Christmas plants is far richer — especially if we look at how Christmas is celebrated in different countries.

Why did certain plants become associated with Christmas?
Each species has its own story: some are “victims” of marketing, others are rooted in ancient myths reaching back to prehistoric times, and some simply happened to grow in places where people noticed them.

Naturally, each of these plants also has fascinating biological features. By getting to know them, we begin to better understand these strange inhabitants of the plant world. And once we understand them, they feel closer and more familiar.

Join the adventure.