Holly,
Ivy & Tartan Ribbon
Photographic Print
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Holly,
Ivy and Mistletoe are seen growing wild in the Irish
countryside. They were originally used in pre-Christian
times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival,
to ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth.
When Christianity came into Western Europe, some people
wanted to keep the greenery and to give it Christian
meanings. The United Kingdom and Germany were the main
countries to keep the use of the greenery.
The
Christian meaning of holly, with it’s prickly leaves,
represents the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he
was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that
were shed
by Jesus because of the thorns.
Christmas
Greetings
with Holly
Giclee Print
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In
pagan times, holly was thought to be a male plant and
ivy a female plant. An old tradition from the Midlands
of England says that whatever one brought into the house
first
over winter, tells you whether the man or woman of the
house would rule that year. But it was unlucky to bring
either
into a house before Christmas Eve.
Ivy
has to cling to something to support itself as it grows.
It’s Christian meaning reminds us that we need
to cling to God for support in our lives.
Holly
and Mistletoe
Giclee Print
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at AllPosters.com
Mistletoe
is a plant that grows on willow and apple trees. The
practice of hanging it in the house goes
back to
the times of the ancient Druids. It is supposed to
possess mystical powers which bring good luck to
the household
and ward off
evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love
and friendship,
and the custom of kissing under mistletoe comes from
England. The original custom was that a berry was
picked from the
sprig of mistletoe before the person could be kissed
and when all the berries had gone, there could be
no more kissing.
When
the first Christians came to Western Europe, some tried
to ban the use of mistletoe as a decoration
in
churches, but many still continued to use it. York
Minster Church
in
the United Kingdom used to hold a special Mistletoe
Service in the winter, where wrong doers in the
city of York
could come and be pardoned.
The
name mistletoe comes from two Anglo Saxon words 'Mistel',
which means dung, and 'tan', which means
twig or stick.
So the literal translation of mistletoe brings
a rather unsavory
image to mind, and about as far away from romantic
as you can get.
