The natural world is equally represented.
FUN FACT: The bitter variant of the common orange originated in the areas of southern China, peninsular southeast Asia, and India. As a result of trade between these regions and the Middle East, the fruit slowly made its way westward. In the 10th century, the Moors brought the crop (along with the lemon and the lime, relatives from the same regions of Asia) across the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Iberian Peninsula.
Originally, oranges were only used tangentially: as a scent, as shade, and as decoration. The sweet version was brought later to Europe by the Portuguese from China in the mid 16th century.
The fruit’s name derives from the Sanskrit word naranyan, meaning “inner fragrance”. In the Persian language, oranges are referred to as narang; in Arabic, naranj. The color and the fruit in contemporary Spanish is naranja. Similarly, in Portuguese, it goes by laranja.
FUN FACT: The pomegranate has had a colorful and varied reputation throughout world history.
In Genesis 3:2 of the Old Testament, “The woman said to the snake, ‘We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God Said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’” Some scholars have argued that the forbidden fruit was not an apple but instead the pomum granatum, Latin for the “apple with many seeds”.
In Buddhist legend the demoness Hariti, who was known to devour children, was cured of her cannibalistic habit by the Buddha, who had given her a pomegranate to consume. This transformation lead her to becoming revered as a mother goddess.
Pomegranates play a special role as a fertility symbol in Middle Eastern weddings. The groom splits one open as he and his bride cross the threshold of their new home. The numerous seeds of the fruit ensure that the couples who eat them will bear many children.
The Spanish word for pomegranate is granada.
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