Holy Hollies
For many centuries in English tradition, berry-laden branches of holly trees have been used to adorn houses and churches as emblems of Christmas. The practice dates to the hidden traditions of Druids, interpreted as a ritual of hanging holly branches around the front of a dwelling to invite sylvan spirits indoors to protect them from winter cold until the return of spring weather when the little beings were free to return to their forest homes.
Were these Santa’s elves? British traditional holds that the first Christian church in Britain was made of Holly wood to attract notice and differentiate themselves from the Druid heathens. From its symbolic association with religious observances, we have the name “holly” which meaning “Holy-tree.”
Hollies come in both deciduous and evergreen species. In Arkansas, we have seven of the more than 500 species of the widespread genus Ilex, including both broadleaf evergreen hollies and those which drop their leaves. The possumhaw, or common deciduous holly, Ilex decidua, sheds its leaves in fall, but has persistent red berries, now aglow with bright red Christmas cheer in our forests.
Most hollies associated with Christmas tradition, are the evergreen hollies such as our native Ilex opaca (mostly found south and east of the Ozarks), and the commonly planted English holly (Ilex aquifolium), which is very similar in appearance with stiff, wavy, spine-armed, evergreen leaves and persistent vermillion red berries. This is the English holly we most associate with Christmas.
Ancient accounts link hollies to Roman traditions. The English holly was known in ancient times to grow to great size. Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) wrote of a holly tree just outside the Vatican that was at least 800 years old. In his day, a brass plate fastened to the tree had an engraved inscription in Tuscan letters, leading him to believe the trees was older than Rome itself.
Some ancient hollies grew to 35 feet in circumference. The Roman occupiers of Britain in the first century celebrated the great feast of Saturn in December. In Rome the leaves of evergreen oaks were used for the celebration, but in occupied Britain with only deciduous oaks, they compelled the Brits to gather the next best substitute—the evergreen boughs of Holly.
Celebrating the birth of Christ on the 25th day of the same month, Christians continued the custom of placing holly and other evergreens in their homes and churches, signaling that the feast of Christmas had arrived.