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The Legend Of The Dogwood 
Native American Legend There is an Indian legend which says that a beautiful princess of the Cherokees was slain by a jealous brave whose suit she had rejected. The maiden picked a dogwood blossom and used it to soak up her blood as she lay dying. This, the story says, is why there are stains on the tip of each petal. The red dogwood is called the Cherokee and bears the color in memory of the blood shed by the Indian girl.
Traditional Christian Legend At one time, the dogwood grew tall, strong, and straight and was abundant in the Holy Land at the time of Christ. The wood was good and available. They say that on the day Jesus was crucified, Roman soldiers selected posts which were made of dogwood. It was upon a cross of dogwood they nailed the Savior. A nail was driven through each hand; another through His ankles. The cross was then raised with ropes and dropped into a post hole. Soldiers drove rocks and wedges into the hole to steady the cross. Within hours, Jesus died a horrible and painful death. The death of a common criminal. Legend has it that the dogwood began to grieve because of the part it played in the crucifixion. Only God could comfort the poor tree. God tried to convince the dogwood that the crucifixion was the work of evil men. None of creation would ever hold it accountable. The dogwood would not be comforted, even by God. God said to the dogwood, "I will recreate in you something new." With the wave of His hand the dogwood was transformed. From that time on, the dogwood had a beautiful flower which blooms at Easter. That way, people would look at the flower and forget the tree's part in the crucifixion. That's not all. God also made the flower in the shape of the cross. On the tip of each white petal there is a spot of red to show the blood of Christ that was shed. In the center of the flower, you can see what looks like a crown of thorns. The wood of the tree was also changed into a small tree so that its wood could never be used for another cross.
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