Holly - A Christmas Tradition

It is said that the concept of Christmas decorations first started from a practice of Romans to send boughs and also other gifts to their family and friends during the festival of the Saturnalia, which was a custom which the early Christians too up. In verification of this idea, the Church of Bracara had issued an edict later which forbade Christians from decorating their homes with green boughs at the same time as the pagans did, as the period of the Saturnalia was approximately a week before Christmas. The source of Christmas decorations and gifts has also been attributed to the Druids, who adorned their huts with evergreens during the winter as a home for sylvan spirits. Christmas Eve is marked as templa exornantur (churches are decked) in old church calendars, as just as these customs were deeply ingrained into the people in the early Christian and pagan days, so it is even today.

There is a very old legend which says that it was under Jesus Christ’s foot where holly first sprung up, when He used to walk on the earth. The thorny leaves and red berries of the holly plant are thought to symbolize Christ’s sufferings, like drops of His blood. It is for this reason that the holly plant is called ‘Christ’s Thorn’ in the languages of the north European countries. Thus, due to its association with such legends, this tree was called the Holy Tree by the writers of olden times. For example, Turner refers to the holly tree as the Holy Tree in his Herbal, which was published in 1568. Other names for holly which are quite popular are Hulver and Holme. In Devon, holly is called Holme, in Norfolk it is called Hulver and in one part of Dartmoor, holly is known as Holme Chase.

Holly is described in the name of Aquifolis or needle leaf by Pliny. Pliny also says that this was the same tree which Theophrastus calls Crataegus. However, later commentators do not agree about this. Pliny says that if holly is planted near a farm or a house, then it repels poison, and defends the house or farm from witchcraft and evil spirits. He also says that the flowers of the holly tree also apparently caused water to freeze and if wood were thrown at any animal, then it would compel the animal to return and lie down beside it.