The ancient Greeks are said to have crowned their warriors and athletes with parsley wreaths. Romans believed that parsley would prevent intoxication. Parsley may have been one of the "bitter herbs" used in the passover feast. It has been used to treat arthritis, kidney ailments. AND it is a crucial ingredient to the Mediterranean inspired hummus or tabbouleh.
But for most of us, parsley is just a garnish. I love parsley because it is the constant in the garden. Planted in both the herb bed outside my kitchen door and in our garden herb plot, our parsley manages to remain green and alive through the harsh winter. I look out my back door and find hope--if the parsley can endure the winter, so can I.
The Jewish people who derive their Passover customs from the Iberian Peninsula region of Europe use parsley as the bitter herb in the Seder. The bitter herbs represent the period when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt. And so, parsley has been used to represent endurance for the Jews, and as a crown of glory for the Romans. In the garden, it is the metaphor for both endurance and crowning glory. It lasts through the long winter like no other herb or plant. And it crowns our simple meals or great feasts with a freshness and beautiful green flourish of ruffled leaves.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you many have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1:10-12 NIV
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