FREE SHIPPING + 15% OFForders over $150 /Use Code: SAVE15
My Cart
Holly leaves and berries reflect the light and add colour to the dark days of Yule, and is one reason people would bring it into their homes. In Christianity, the spiny leaves were symbolic with Jesus’ crown of thorns. The berries became associated with the drops of blood shed for humanity’s salvation. Looking back even further to Druid times, it was customary for a small boy dressed in a suit of holly leaves and a girl in ivy, to be paraded around the village. The idea was to bring Nature through the darkest part of the year to re-emerge for another year’s fertility.
If we look at early Celtic traditions, the holy and berries were used to either protect the home from malevolent faeries or allow them to shelter in the home without friction with the human occupants. Going back even further, if it was a prickly-leaved or smooth-leaved holly that came into the house this would dictate whether the husband or wife respectively were to rule the household for the coming year.
Despite and regardless of the above, the holly was a symbol of winter. The vibrant red and green of the holly berries was a potent symbol of life, as the vivid colours stood out in the darkness, offering up well needed light.
In the language of flowers, the holy represents fertility and eternal life along with protection.
Holly leaves and berries reflect the light and add colour to the dark days of Yule, and is one reason people would bring it into their homes. In Christianity, the spiny leaves were symbolic with Jesus’ crown of thorns. The berries became associated with the drops of blood shed for humanity’s salvation. Looking back even further to Druid times, it was customary for a small boy dressed in a suit of holly leaves and a girl in ivy, to be paraded around the village. The idea was to bring Nature through the darkest part of the year to re-emerge for another year’s fertility.
If we look at early Celtic traditions, the holy and berries were used to either protect the home from malevolent faeries or allow them to shelter in the home without friction with the human occupants. Going back even further, if it was a prickly-leaved or smooth-leaved holly that came into the house this would dictate whether the husband or wife respectively were to rule the household for the coming year.
Despite and regardless of the above, the holly was a symbol of winter. The vibrant red and green of the holly berries was a potent symbol of life, as the vivid colours stood out in the darkness, offering up well needed light.
In the language of flowers, the holy represents fertility and eternal life along with protection.