Scent enters the Christmas story quite early on. If you recall, the Three Wise Men from the East paid homage to the Christ child with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Besides their resonances – gold for kings, frankincense for worship and myrrh for anointing the dead – two are quite something in the way of fragrance.
Frankincense is a hard resin exuded by, yes, the frankincense tree and has a haunting earthy, spicy, woody smell. Myrrh is an oily, gelatinous substance exuded from incisions in the bark of a tree and the scent is warm, aromatic and pungent. Together, they’re much prized in Chinese medicine, and in honour of the season, they’re components of some lovely Christmas scents.
