Symbolism of the olive branch

The olive branch is the branch of olive. The original plant belongs to the evergreen shrub of Oleaceae, which is beautiful in shape and luxuriant in branches and leaves. It was introduced in China in the 1960s and is now cultivated as a garden ornamental plant in many areas. It usually opens small white flowers in September, bears fruit in October, and the fruit changes from green to red in November. Let's take a look at the symbolic significance of olive branches.

The symbolic significance of the olive branch

The olive branch symbolizes peace. Biblical stories used it as a symbol of the earth's recovery, and later Western countries used it as a symbol of peace. The emblem of the United Nations sets off the whole earth with two olive branches, which means to strive for world peace. The badge of the United Nations peacekeeping force uses an olive branch to symbolize peace. At the same time, as the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games and the symbol of the spirit of the Olympic Movement, the olive branch has a profound meaning and has a long influence.

The symbolic Origin of Olive Branch

Going back to the source, we have to start with the fairy tale of Noah's Ark in the Bible. One day in ancient times, God found that human moral consciousness was getting worse and worse, almost to the point of hopelessness. Therefore, decided to use the flood to engulf all human beings. However, God thought that there had to be creatures in the world, so he sent messengers to the world to carefully examine the situation in order to determine who was allowed to exist.

When the messenger reported that there was a couple named Noah who were morally good, God gave them the right to live and informed them in advance that a large square wooden boat was ready for dry food and drinking water, and a pair of animals were selected and carried on board. Then the flood came, and all the creatures in the world could not escape the disaster, and only Noah's ark drifted safely.

After a long time, the flood receded, and mountains, islands and open spaces appeared in the distance. Noah and his wife were so happy that they first released a pair of pigeons on board the ship into the blue sky and set them free. But after a while, the pigeon flew back with an emerald-green olive branch, which seemed to be a message that the earth was back to life and everything was at peace! Since then, the olive branch has become synonymous with "peace", and the dove is also called "messenger of peace" and "dove of peace".

The Sports Origin of Olive Branch

In modern sports, crowning winners with certain branches is originally a tradition derived from ancient Greece. according to literature, there are at least five series of sports events in ancient Greece.

The first is the Olympic Games, held in Olympia every four years in memory of Zeus. The winner was first named in 776 BC. The winner was awarded a wild olive branch crown and smeared olive oil on his head.

The second is the Pythia Games, held in Delphi every four years in honor of the sun god Apollo, in addition to sports, there are music competitions, and the winners are awarded laurel crowns.

The third is the Nimi Games, held every five years, in which the winner is awarded a parsley crown.

The fourth is the Ismail Games, held in Corinth in memory of Poseidon, a biennial sports and music competition, and the winner is also awarded a parsley crown (a pine crown).

The fifth is the Hera Games, held in Olympia every four years in honor of the diva Hera. The contestants must be young women, and the winner is awarded the wild olive crown. It is said that the Hera Games are probably older than the Olympic Games.