Gardener’s Corner

Most Western cultures associate the holly plant with Christmas, but holly’s meaning has a long, rich history that reaches back before the time of Christ. Due to its ability to stay green through the harshest winter months, holly has deep-rooted symbolic links to life and hope. Ancient druids, Romans, Celts and even Asian cultures embraced holly as an important aspect of annual celebrations and cultural traditions

As societies transitioned from pagan beliefs to Christian ones, the holly plant continued to play an important role. Christmas-day.org states the mistletoe, a plant tied to pagan ritual, was banned by the church as a Christmas decoration with holly as the suggested replacement. Holly’s thorns symbolized the thorns in Christ’s crown, and its red berries represented Christ’s blood. Legend says that a little orphan boy gave Christ a wreath of holly shortly after his birth. The boy, ashamed by his humble gift, began to cry at Jesus’ manger. Christ then touched the tear-laden crown and transformed the wet droplets into beautiful red berries. Others say that the holly plant grew leaves out of season to hide the holy family from King Herod and his malicious intentions.

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