Joseph in fact chastises her and argues that it would be better to find water for themselves and their cattle. She sees that the tree is full of dates and asks Joseph to get some for her, but the tree is too high. Pseudo-Matthew 20 relates that, on the third day of the journey, Mary grows fatigued by the heat of the day and asks to rest under the branches of a nearby palm tree. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, a popular non-canonical work composed in the 8th or 9th century (Cartlidge and Elliott, 3), picks up on the tale, relying heavily on the Protevangelium of James and Infancy Thomas, two other apocryphal works. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, has been warned in a dream that this is coming, so he, Mary and Jesus flee to Egypt. In Matthew 2, after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, the jealous, insecure and cruel King Herod orders all male children under two years of age murdered. One of these later tales is the Cherry Tree Carol, the history of which demonstrates how the Jesus story has evolved and been used by different communities for various purposes over several centuries. These carols often reflect the stories of Jesus’ birth as recounted in the New (Christian) Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but many others originate considerably later in the Christian tradition.
Tis the season when many of us are singing – and/or listening to – Christmas carols.
