The holly and the ivy

The Holly and the Ivy is a traditional English Christmas carol. December 25th was chosen to mark the birth of Jesus, but many symbols of the season are pagan, and go back thousands of years. For example, the bright red berries of the holly once represented fertility in the depth of winter.

If you grow holly, then you know the male and female trees need to be planted close in order to produce the beautiful berries. Occasionally, you still see old pairs of hollies flanking the front walkways of houses in Seattle. But the plant is out of fashion, since they are miserable to prune and can become enormous trees in our climate.

The ancient Romans believed if holly grew near a house, it protected against lightening, poison and sorcery. I planted some in the kitchen window box for Christmas, and we haven't had any problems with those things.


Holly water was sprinkled on newborns for protection, and was taken for good sleep, better dreams, and to help cope with death. The wood and smoke was used to forge and consecrate weapons. Romans associated holly with their sun god Saturn, and gave boughs of holly to friends during the winter solstice festival, called Saturnalia. When Christian missionaries tried to convert the Celts, they used pagan traditions to help the process along, and so holly became a religious symbol. Holly leaves were symbolic of the crown of thorns, and the berries represented Christ's blood.

The holly tree is personified in the Celtic Holly King, who rules nature. At each solstice, he and his brother the Oak King compete for the goddesses' attention and the winner rules over nature for the next six months. Their battle is symbolized by the ascent of the sun after winter solstice.


Natalie Cole does a wonderful version of the song. Here's a link to a YouTube video of her singing The Holly and the Ivy with Jose Carreras in Vienna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxH60hIb9TM