CRANBERRY
Wild Word Friday!
When the first European settlers came to North America, one of the berries they discovered to be edible was the CRANBERRY. This marsh berry comes to us via the graces of a trailing evergreen that loves lots of water.
When the British settlers came to North America, they named the CRANBERRY, fen berry, since they found them in bogs. The German and Danish settlers named them kranebeere or kranebere, which for some reason displaced the British name. Kranebeere/bere actually means crane (the bird) berry. I imagine these settlers noticed long-legged cranes wading through the fens eating CRANBERRYs. The word crane comes to us from the Indo-European base gr-on, and that means to cry hoarsely. So there you have it, berries named after a bird and a sound.
Do any of your holiday celebrations include CRANBERRYs?
Blessings!
Sue
(Photograph by cjboffoli.)
I didn’t know cranberries would grow in ditches, Laura! We have a lot of cold-water bogs around here and my husband’s aunt used to go out in a canoe or small boat and pick them every year.
I’m with you on the turkey and cranberries. They just go together!
I love cranberries. My husband and I picked some this fall. They were growing alongside a ditch in a Christmas tree lot. Apparently not all cranberries grow in bogs. I once believed they did but have discovered otherwise.
And to answer you question, you’ve got to have cranberries with the turkey. It’s a must. 🙂