The robin redbreast

All joy of the season!

The robin is a symbol of Christmas in Britain, though I'm not sure why. It lives here year round, but it's not the only bird to do so. There are explanations. One is a connection with early postmen, who wore red coats -- therefore robin red-breasts on cards. It's not completely convincing. Another is a legend about the robin keeping the fire going in the stable to keep the baby Jesus warm and its breast catching fire.  A sweet tale, but the association of the robin with Christmas seems to come in Victorian times. 

Perhaps it's simply because it's a friendly (to humans, at least) little bird with a cheerful colouring in that red breast. Except that its breast isn't red. It is, if you look, distinctly orange!

Why then, so famously red? I've heard that the word "orange" came late to English and that "red" was used for orange, but according to the OED Robin Redbreast crops up in the mid 16th century at about the same time that "orange" comes into use, both as a fruit and a colour.

So it's a mystery! But the robin does have a very benign reputation, as these quotes show.

1550   R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Cviv,   When the short dayes begyn to be colde Robinredbrest wil come home to ye.

1612   J. Webster White Divel (Routledge) v. 45/2   The robin-red~breast and the wren..with leaves and flowers do cover The friendless bodies of unburied men.

1683   T. Tryon Way to Health 448   The Raven as unfit for food,..and the pretty Robbin-Red-Breast for its Innocency, are very seldom killed.

 

The North American robin is a very different bird. I'm sure it's fine, but to me it's not as cute. It's sleeker and it flocks, whereas our robin is solitary and hangs out in our gardens.

 

Whichever you prefer, may the birds of Christmas be kind as the robin and the wren.

 

Jo