Did you know that the Olive tree and its products are an integral part of the Mediterranen diet, which has the honour of being called an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and it grows widely in the northern to southern Africa , Arabia, India to China?
Did you know that Olive oil is still used in many religious ceremonies and symbolizes wisdom, fertility, power, and purity?
The Olive tree with botanical name, Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub tracing its origin to the Mediterranean Europe. It was also integrated into the religious practices of all the "known religions" of the region with implications of peace, fertility, strength and purification. It now grows widely in the northern to southern Africa , Arabia, India to China. Hundreds of cultivars of the olive tree are known.
Historically, the olive plant was first cultivated some 7,000 years ago in Mediterranean regions. For thousands of years olives were grown primarily for lamp oil, with little regard for culinary flavor. Its origin can be traced to the Levant based on written tablets, olive pits, and wood fragments found in ancient tombs. As far back as 3000 BC, olives were grown commercially in Crete Island in Greece; they may have been the source of the wealth of the Minoan civilization. An olive tree in Mouriscas, Abrantes, Portugal, (Oliveira do Mouchão) is one of the oldest known olive trees still alive to this day, with an estimated age of 3,350 years, planted approximately at the beginning of the Atlantic Bronze Age.
Symbolically, the Olive branch represents peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power, as emblems of benediction and purification.
In Greek Myhtology, the new city of Athens was to be granted to the god who offered the best gift for humanity. Poseidan offered a freshwater spring. Although this was well recieved, it was Athena who offered what they deemed to be the best gift- the sacred olive tree, symbolising peace and good will. ; in ancient greece a crown of olive-twigs was the highest distinction of a citizen. Wreaths from the oive branches were worn by brides at their wedding as well as by victors at the ancient olympic games. The olive branch also symbolized peaceful times when all wars stopped for the duration of the games. Many nations' flags , as well as the seal of United Nations, now feature olive branches.The flag of the United Nations consists of the emblem depicting the white azimuthal equidistant projection of the world map, centred on the North Pole, with two white olive branches placed on to its right and left, located on the sky blue background. The emblem was officially adopted on 7 December 1946, and the flag, on 20 October 1947
In present day common usage, the term “extending an olive branch” refers to extending an offer of peace and friendship.
The Olive tree is short and squat and rarely exceeds 8–15 m (25–50 ft) in height. When in shrub form, it is known as Olea europaea 'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The tree has branches of silvery green leaves of oblong shape with the trunk typically gnarled and twisted. Its blooms with small, white, feathery flowers result in fruits as small drupes called Olives which are harvested at the green to purple stage. The drupe contains a pyrena commonly referred to in American English as a "pit", and in British English as a "stone".
In India, a cultivar of olive is called Osmanthus fragrans - Fragrant olive, known as Silang in Hindi language, and Brihat bakula, Vasuka in Sanskrit. Olive tree of the medtraanean type is still a distant rality in India with Rajasthan as the only place known for the production of olive oil. Most of the olive oil in India is imported.
About 10 per cent of the world's olives ( 15,00,000 metric tonnes)
are being used for table consumption; the rest are for extraction of oil.
The main Olive tree's products are olive oil and table olives (cultivated for consumption), and both integrated into the deiteray pattern known as Mediteraanean diet, is an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Olive oil differs from other vegetable oils because it is used in its natural form and has unique flavor and other characteristics. Its leaf has been used medicinally in various times and places. Olive leaf and olive leaf extracts, are now marketed as anti-aging, immunostimulator, antioxidant, cardio protective, blood sugar regulating, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic agents. Olive oil's dominant use is healthful benefits including reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
- Narasipur Char
