| The Glastonbury thorn
legend is attached to Christ's death as well as the celebration of his birth. The legend
goes that soon after the death of Christ, Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain to spread
the message of Christianity. When he traveled there from the Holy Land he brought with him
his staff. Being tired from his journey, he lay down to rest. In doing so, he pushed his
staff into the ground beside him. When he awoke, he found that the staff had taken root
and begun to grow and blossom. It is said he left it there and it has flowered every
Christmas and every spring . It is also said that a puritan trying to cut down the tree
was blinded by a splinter of the wood before he could do so. The original thorn did
eventually die but not before many cuttings had been taken. It is one of these very
cuttings which is in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey today.
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