Ever wondered how the certain foliage became synonymous with Christmas – well here’s a few words to satisfy your fascination!
Holy - Very popular at Christmas
Let’s start with the very traditional Holly and Ivy. Holly and Ivy have been associated with the festive season, long before inspiring the penning of the 17th century’s carol ‘The Holy and Ivy’ and the chart topping ‘Mistletoe and Wine’, sung by Sir Cliff Richards in 1988. Pagans decorated their homes during the dark winter solstice months with the evergreens that grew around them, with each plant having its own meaning – Holly and Ivy were symbols of fertility! The male holly and the female ivy intertwined in a wreath or garland was a reminder of the new season/new growth to follow.
Both Holly and Ivy were also believed to have magical powers, being capable of warding off evil spirits and providing power and strength. The druid priests amongst the Irish Celts used Ivy extensively in their spiritual ceremonies.
The Romans added another “take” on the use of foliage when they arrived in Britain in 43AD. A crown of Ivy was worn by Bacchus, the God of wine, to give him immortality and Holly provided the Roman god Saturn with a sturdy staff. Saturn was responsible for a festival which started on the 17th December and lasted at least a week so not surprisingly Holy was used extensively as decoration or as a gift.
And after all this the Christians continued to use the foliage, in the early days using Holly to disguise their religious symbols for the Holy season. Indeed, Holly became symbolic of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore; the red berries represented his blood. So as time went on these readily available evergreens started to represent Christmas as we know it today, appearing on Christmas cards, decorating Christmas puddings, adorning and festooning front doors and mantelpieces. So just think what a long journey the wreath on our door has travelled and be happy you have something which wards off evil spirits (shame it does work for hawkers these days)!
A kiss under the misletoe?
And so to the kiss under the Mistletoe. The use of Mistletoe at Christmas also stems from the customs and early faiths of the Celts and Greeks; Mistletoe was believed to hold magical powers and medicinal properties. In Europe especially, it was used to ward off witches and evil spirits, whilst in other cultures the white berry was a symbol of love and peace- this Norse symbol of love then developed into the tradition today of kissing under the sprig of Mistletoe. Once again it’s a shame mistletoes seems to have lost its magical powers in warding off ‘unwanted’ advances…….
Vibrant Poinsettias - a special gift
Then to add a little colour we have the Poinsettia. In 16th Century Mexico a traditional Christmas story evolved of a poor child (some stories say it was a girl other versions say it was a little boy) who wanted to give a gift to the baby Jesus, unable to afford a special present the child was upset until an angel told the child to pick weeds from the grass verges and lay them as a gift on the church altar. These weeds then miraculously bloomed into the poinsettia. Today poinsettias are a common Christmas decoration all over the world. In the US the 12th December ‘National Poinsettia Day’ commemorating Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico.
So when you look adoringly at your Christmas Decorations, take a moment to think of the long history of the foliage used and be thankful for their magical powers…. have a magical Christmas !!
