Eva Oschmann, Freshman
For years, the plant holly, also known as Ilex, a genus of about 480 species of flowering plants, has been associated closely with the holidays, making it symbolic for the winter and Christmas season. Before the plant was hung in houses to celebrate the Christmas and holiday season, it was originally considered to be a sacred plant of fertility and eternal life.
The Druids, members of a high-ranking class in ancient Celtic societies, were the ones to consider holly as something special, seeing how the plant’s vibrant green and red colors stayed resilient year-round. The plants even keep their colors during the harsh winter. The Druids believed that hanging up holly inside their homes brought good luck, while chopping down a holly tree would bring bad luck. However, the Celtics weren’t the only culture to celebrate Christmas and the holidays by speculating beliefs about the plant. The Romans closely associated holly with Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest. They would deck the halls with mounds of holly during the festival of Saturnalia.
As time continued on, early Christian calendars were marked as “templa exornatur”, meaning “churches are decked”. There was some controversy with this though, because, supposedly, Saturnalia celebrators did not want Christians to hang holly in honor of their holiday, Christmas. Christians adopted the tradition of holly from Druid, Roman, and Celtic traditions, then changed its symbolic traditions to fit Christian beliefs.
The Christians consider modern holly symbolic of their holidays by regarding it as a direct relation to Jesus Christ. The red berries are said to represent Jesus’ blood that he shed on the cross when he was crucified. Their legend says that holly berries were originally white, but the blood Christ shed for man’s sins stained the berries red forever. The pointed leaves of the plant are meant to symbolize the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus’ head before he died on the cross.
Holly is also regarded as “christdorn” by German culture, meaning “Christ thorn”. Both this and the Christian’s first idea of the blood berries are meant to constantly serve as a reminder to Christians that Jesus was crucified for their sins. Another story claims that the cross that Jesus was originally crucified on was made from the wood of the holly tree. They also claimed that holly sprung up from his footsteps.
There is also a less common tradition stating that the symbolism of holly, it's white blossoms in this case, represent purity. The idea that if holly was used in a home for Christmas decorating, the certain leaf textures would represent different things. If the leaves were prickly, the man would rule the house for the next year. If the holly was smooth, the woman would rule. Rather branching out from the original idea of it being simply for good luck.
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