Editing Oak (section)

==Culture==

=== Symbols ===

[[File:Coat of arms of Estonia.svg|thumb|upright|The oak features in many coats of arms, such as [[Coat of arms of Estonia|that of Estonia]].<ref name="Estonian Institute">{{cite web |last=Estonian Institute |title=National symbols of Estonia |url=http://www.estinst.ee/publications/symbols/ |publisher=Estonian Institute |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114085551/http://www.estinst.ee/publications/symbols/ |archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref> ]]

The oak is a widely used symbol of strength and [[endurance]].<ref name="Leroy Plomion Kremer 2019">{{cite journal | last1=Leroy | first1=Thibault | last2=Plomion | first2=Christophe | last3=Kremer | first3=Antoine | title=Oak symbolism in the light of genomics | journal=New Phytologist | publisher=Wiley | volume=226 | issue=4 | date=25 July 2019 | issn=0028-646X | doi=10.1111/nph.15987 | pages=1012–1017| pmid=31183874 | pmc=7166128 }}</ref> It is the [[national tree]] of many countries,<ref name="Venables 2012"/> including the US,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arborday.org |title=Trees – Arbor Day Foundation |publisher=Arborday.org |access-date=27 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428143334/http://www.arborday.org/ |archive-date=28 April 2010}}</ref> [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Cyprus]] ([[Quercus alnifolia|golden oak]]), [[Estonia]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Moldova]], [[Jordan]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], and [[Wales]].<ref name="Venables 2012">{{cite web |title=Oak as a Symbol |url=http://www.venablesoak.co.uk/about-oak/oak-as-a-symbol-2/|work=Venables Oak |access-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505014026/http://www.venablesoak.co.uk/about-oak/oak-as-a-symbol-2/ |archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> Ireland's fifth-largest city, [[Derry]], is named for the tree, from {{Irish place name|Doire|oak}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Derry |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/derry |website=Etymology Online |access-date=9 October 2023}}</ref>  Oak branches are displayed on some German coins, both of the former [[Deutsche Mark]] and the [[euro]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schierz |first=Kai Uwe |chapter=Von Bonifatius bis Beuys, oder: Vom Umgang mit heiligen Eichen |title=Bonifatius: Heidenopfer, Christuskreuz, Eichenkult |trans-title=Boniface: Heathen Sacrifice, Christ's Cross, Oak Cult |year=2004 |publisher=Stadtverwaltung Erfurt |pages=139–145 |editor=Hardy Eidam |editor2=Marina Moritz |editor3=Gerd-Rainer Riedel |editor4=Kai-Uwe Schierz |language=de }}</ref>
Oak leaves symbolize [[military rank|rank]] in armed forces including those [[United States Armed Forces|of the United States]]. Arrangements of oak leaves, acorns, and sprigs indicate different branches of the [[United States Navy staff corps]] officers.<ref name="Websters Online Dictionary">{{cite web |title=Political or Symbolic |url=http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/oak |work=Extended Definition: oak |access-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530214714/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/oak |archive-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ar670.com/articles/view/29/wear-of-appurtenances/311 |title=Army Regulation 670-1 {{!}} Wear of appurtenances {{!}} Section 29.12 Page 278 |website=ar670.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122161840/http://ar670.com/articles/view/29/wear-of-appurtenances/311 |archive-date=22 January 2018 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-01-19}}</ref> The oak tree is used as a symbol by several political parties and organisations. It is the symbol of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Glover |first=Julian |title=Thatcher's torch extinguished as Cameron's Conservatives carve new logo out of oak |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/aug/09/conservatives.marketingandpr |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=9 August 2006}}</ref> and formerly of the [[Progressive Democrats]] in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].<ref name=r9>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071119201140/http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/about_us/coalition_government_1989_to_1992/ Coalition Government 1989 To 1992]. progressivedemocrats.ie</ref>

=== Religion ===

[[File:Grīdnieku dižozols.JPG|thumb|Grīdnieku ancient oak in Rumbas parish, [[Latvia]], girth {{convert|8.27|m|ft}} 2015]]

The prehistoric [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] tribes worshipped the oak and connected it with a [[thunder god]], and this tradition descended to many classical cultures. In [[Greek mythology]], the oak is the tree sacred to [[Zeus]], king of the gods. In Zeus's [[oracle]] in [[Dodona]], [[Epirus]], the sacred oak was the centerpiece of the precinct, and the priests would [[divination|divine]] the pronouncements of the god by interpreting the rustling of the oak's leaves.<ref>Frazer, James George (1922). [http://www.bartleby.com/196/26.html ''The Golden Bough''. Chapter XV: The Worship of the Oak.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521225940/http://www.bartleby.com/196/26.html |date=21 May 2012 }}</ref> Mortals who destroyed such trees were said to be punished by the gods since the ancient Greeks believed beings called [[hamadryad]]s inhabited them.<ref name="Bell1790">{{cite book |author=[[John Bell (publisher)|Bell, John]] |title=Bell's New Pantheon; Or, Historical Dictionary of the Gods, Demi-gods, Heroes, and Fabulous Personages of Antiquity: Also, of the Images and Idols Adored in the Pagan World; Together with Their Temples, Priests, Altars, Oracles, Fasts, Festivals, Games ... |url=https://archive.org/details/bellsnewpantheo00bellgoog |year=1790 |publisher=J. Bell |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bellsnewpantheo00bellgoog/page/n376 366]–7}}</ref> In [[Norse mythology|Norse]] and [[Baltic mythology]], the oak was sacred to the thunder gods [[Thor]] and [[Perkūnas]] respectively.<ref>{{cite book |title=Suomen terveyskasvit: luonnon parantavat yrtit ja niiden salaisuudet |page=256 |author=Marja-Leena Huovinen & Kaarina Kanerva |year=1982 |location=Helsinki |publisher=Valitut Palat |isbn=951-9078-87-8 | language=fi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ąžuolas paprastasis |url=https://gamtininkas.lt/augalai/azuolas-paprastasis-lot-quercus-robur-l/ |date=21 February 2011 |website=Zolininkas.lt |language=lt-LT |access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> In [[Celtic polytheism]], the name [[druid]], Celtic priest, is connected to Proto-Indo-European ''*deru'', meaning oak or tree.<ref name=Credo>{{cite book |last=Ferber |first=Michael |chapter=Oak |title=A Dictionary of Literary Symbols |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-1-1071-7211-1}}</ref> Veneration of the oak survives in [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] tradition. [[Christmas]] celebrations include the [[Badnjak (Serbian)|''badnjak'']], a branch taken from a young and straight oak ceremonially felled early on Christmas Eve morning, similar to a [[yule log]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Fight to save 'sacred' oak from road |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-33326394 |publisher=BBC |date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

=== History ===

{{main|List of individual trees}}
: Category: [[:Category:Individual oak trees|''Individual oak trees'']]

Several oak trees hold cultural importance; such as the [[Royal Oak (tree)|Royal Oak]] in Britain,<ref>{{cite web |title=Oak mythology and folklore |url=https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/oak/oak-mythology-and-folklore/ |website=Trees for Life |access-date=29 September 2023}}</ref> the [[Charter Oak]] in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-04-23 |title=The Legend of the Charter Oak |url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/legend-charter-oak/ |access-date=2021-04-23 |website=New England Historical Society |archive-date=2021-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423002123/https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/legend-charter-oak/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Guernica oak]] in the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]].<ref name="ElMundoTrees">{{cite news |author=unspecified |title=Otro árbol de Gernika |newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]] |date=26 February 2005}}</ref> "[[The Proscribed Royalist, 1651]]", a famous painting by [[John Everett Millais]], depicts a [[Royalist]] hiding in an oak tree while fleeing from [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell's]] forces.<ref>[http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_ancient_tree.htm Arborecology, containing a photograph of the Millais oak] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828000601/http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_ancient_tree.htm |date=28 August 2008 }}. arborecology.co.uk</ref><ref>Millais, J. G. (1899) [https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofsir01milliala ''Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais''], vol. 1, p. 166, London : Methuen.</ref>

In the [[Roman Republic]], a crown of oak leaves was given to those who had saved the life of a citizen in battle; it was called the "[[Civic Crown]]".<ref name="Credo"/> In his 17th century poem ''[[The Garden (poem)|The Garden]]'', [[Andrew Marvell]] critiqued the desire to be awarded such a leafy crown: "How vainly men themselves amaze / To win the [[Arecaceae|palm]], the oak, or [[Laurel wreath|bays]]; And their uncessant labors see / Crowned from some single herb or tree, ..."<ref>{{cite web |last=Marvell |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Marvell |title=The Garden |url=https://poets.org/poem/garden |website=Poets.org |access-date=29 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Summers |first=Joseph H. |title=Reading Marvell's 'Garden' |journal=The Centennial Review |volume=13 |issue=1 |year=1969 |pages=18–37 |jstor=23738134 |quote=Hortus, Marvell's Latin poem which seems to be an earlier version of the English one ... both poems begin with the rejection of the worlds of ambitious action, urban life and passionate love, and celebrate a supposed entrance into an entirely new life within the garden.}}</ref>