Franklin County Horticulture
The legends of Christmas:
Christianity 'adopted' holly from pagan Roman celebrations; poinsettias came from 'transformation' of weeds
December 23, 2001
I hope you have been enjoying reading about the legends,
rituals, and traditions of plants associated with this holiday season. This
week, we’ll look at the use of hollies and poinsettias.
By the way, if you missed the previous two columns on
legends and traditions, links to it and other past newspaper articles are posted
on the internet at http://ces.ca.uky.edu/franklin/horticulture/maintext.htm.
Holly
Several legends are reported about holly.
The ancient Romans considered this plant sacred.
Holly was used to honor Saturn, god of agriculture, during their
Saturnalia festival held near the time of the winter solstice. The Romans gave
one another holly wreaths, carried it in processions, and decked images of
Saturn with it. During the early years of the Christian religion in Rome, many
Christians continued to deck their homes with holly to avoid detection and
persecution by Roman authorities. Gradually, holly became a symbol of the
holidays as Christianity became the dominant religion of the empire.
Early Roman Christians believed that the cross on which
Christ was crucified was made of holly wood; the crown of thorns was created
from holly leaves and the white berries became stained red by Christ’s blood.
The white flowers were supposed to represent Jesus’ purity and birth.
During the Middle Ages people associated holly with good
fortune. Hollies planted near homes helped protect these homes from thunder and
lightning. The berries and leaves were used to ward off witches and evil
spirits. It was believed that elves
and fairies stayed in the holly and kept the house goblins from causing trouble.
The Druids also believed in the protective power of holly, claiming that this
was where the woodland spirits took winter refuge.
On the other hand, Medieval Europeans believed family
bickering would result if holly entered the home prior to December 24. Holly
boughs left up past the New Year would cause one misfortune for each leaf on a
branch. (This also correlates with
the often-practiced tradition of removing all holiday decorations prior to the
New Year, to avoid bad luck.)
Medieval Europeans also believed that picking holly while it
was blooming might cause death. However, plucking a piece of holly from church
decorations would bring good luck all year long; holly hung in the barn would
cause animals to fatten and flourish; and holly picked on December 25 would
protect one from witches and evil spirits.
The Germans believed bad luck would befall anyone who stepped
on the berries. They also believed
that the first person to bring holly into the household each year, rules the
household for the coming year.
Poinsettias
Another popular plant at this time of year is the
poinsettia. These plants are native
to Mexico. Originally, these plants
were cultivated by the Aztec Indians for their use in dyes and the preparation
of fever remedies. This plant was
introduced into the U.S. by the first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Robert Poinsett.
One of the most colorful legends associated with
poinsettias dates back to ancient Mexico. Legend
has it that on December 24, villagers take flowers to the church to the baby
Jesus. A young child, too poor to
buy flowers, was sad that he had no gift to bring.
An angel appeared and told the child to pick some weeds from the roadside
and bring them, since any gift given with love would be accepted.
As the weeds were placed in the church, the upper leaves of the weed
changed into a bright red color. The
Mexicans called this weed Flores de nocha buena, or Flowers of the Holy
Night. Accounts differ whether it
was a girl or boy that delivered the weeds to the church.
Please note: references
to particular religions or ethnic groups are not meant to be discriminatory.
Information concerning these legends is intended merely for their use in
educational value. The University
of Kentucky does not endorse nor deny any of these claims.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.