Most of us will know holly as an evergreen shrub or small tree with red berries, particularly associated with Christmas time. In this blog post I will tell you a little bit more about why it is associated with Christmas and some of the stories associated with it.
Holly is one of the few native evergreen trees of Ireland. The leaves can vary from very spiny on young plants to spineless on mature trees. Why? Because spines are costly to produce. They are on the leaves to deter animals from grazing on the trees. Grazing animals cannot reach the higher branches, therefore there is no need for spines on the upper branches. However, there have been records of holly branches being used as fodder for animals.
Holly flowers in May-July. Male and female flowers are found on separate plants and so holly berries are only found on female plants.
The name holly comes from the word ‘Holy’, linking it to Christianity. It was thought that the berries represented the blood of Christ and the spines of holly represented the suffering of Christ. The berries can be seen in winter time (please note that these are not edible and can be poisonous in large quantities) and holly has long been associated with the festive season, both Christmas and New Year. The reason for this stems from the fact that holly is thought to have protective powers. People decorated their house with wreaths and garlands made of holly to protect their house from evil spirits during the season. On St. Stephen’s Day, boys used to go around houses with dead or fake wrens on a holly stick, collecting money. This custom died out around 1900, but in some parts of the country this day is still known as the Day of the Wren. In Wales it was custom for boys and men to beat local women on St. Stephen’s Day with holly branches until they drew blood. When this tradition existed (until the 19th century) it was thought that bleeding was beneficial.
As mentioned above, holly was believed to have protective powers. One of these powers is protection from lightning. The Roman naturalist Pliny said, holly planted near a house would protect it from lightning and witchcraft and would protect a farm from poison. Up to the modern day holly has been associated with lightning. And it has recently been scientifically proven that the spines are mini lightning conductors (although I have not been able to find a scientific paper on this).
Holly has been frequently left uncut in hedges, when the rest of the hedge was cut. This is due to the belief that holly would obstruct witches from running along the tops of hedges (which they were thought to frequently do). For the same reason, in several legends, people had a protecting circle of holly planted around their house or hut to protect the people from evil, due to its ‘mysterious force’.
The wood of holly is very strong and durable was associated with control of horses in particular, hence horse-drawn coaches, chariot poles and whips where made out of holly. Holly wood was is also associated with war, as it was used to make spears and darts. In more recent times it has been used to make tool handles.
When you are decorating your house with holly this year, make sure you get it from a reputable source, as a lot of holly for sale has been cut down illegally. The best way to get holly is to grow it in your own garden. When doing this, don’t mind this myth: In County Tyrone it was thought that if a holly bush was planted near a house, the daughters of the house would never marry or have children.
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year and I am looking forward to writing more blog posts in the New Year.
Wildflower Walks Ireland 