The Holly and the Ivy: How Pagan Practices Found Their Way into Christmas
Every year, almost without thinking about it, we incorporate certain plant species into out Christmas celebrations. The most obvious is the Christmas tree, linked historically in England to Prince Albert – but its use in British homes goes back to at least 1761 when Charlotte wife of George III put up a tree at the royal court.
(It’s probably worth noting here that the first artificial-brush Christmas tree was produced using the same machinery that was originally designed to produce toilet brushes.)
Three other plants are intimately associated with Christmas: holly, ivy and mistletoe – and in all cases their ecology is closely linked to their cultural uses.
Of all the trees that are in the wood
Holly, like ivy and mistletoe, is a winter green and the bringing of green vegetation into the home is closely linked to rebirth both of spring and of Christ. It is the holly that most closely bears the crown – its spiny leaves and red berries link to Jesus’ crown of thorns. But such a link does not explain why holly is linked to Christmas rather than Easter.
Holly was an important element in deer parks and old hunting estates – and the name holly still survives in modern place names such as Hollins, Holm Hodder, Hollyoaks and Hollywood – and were important for winter food. In the New Forest, in southern England, holly is still cut down as browse for the ponies.
The spiny dense canopy of holly also meant that it was useful as protection. It was sometimes planted next to saplings of valuable tree species to provide some protection from grazing animals and it is not unusual to see holly growing next to oaks and other trees, either from deliberate planting or a result of seeds being deposited by birds roosting on the branches above.
Holly has also been thought to protect the home – the holly you put around the door acting as flypaper for fairies, trapping any evil spirits who try to enter.
Holly and Ivy are often linked together at Christmas; this goes back much further, to the idea of the holly (male) and ivy (female) being burnt together at the pagan festival of Beltane.
Ivy, like holly, is an important evergreen edible plant species in UK woodland. One of only five woody climbers, like mistletoe it can form dense growths in canopies that can cause harm to the host. As with mistletoe it is linked with both Christmas and romance. Ivy is unusual among these species in being also associated with death and melancholy as well as rebirth.
Misteltoe: fertility plant
European mistletoe Viscum album is a partial parasite; it draws some nutrition from the host tree but also makes its own energy through photosynthesis. It is unusual in being a parasitic species that was deliberately spread by humans as it was thought to encourage fruiting in orchard trees. Pliny believed that mistletoe seeds had to be eaten by birds to germinate, indeed the name mistletoe means dung on a stick.
Mistletoe is most often associated with love, romance, courtship and the snog at the Christmas party. Its early associations are rather more sexual and when you look at its distinctive shape it is fairly easy to see why. Mistletoe has pairs of woody short stems coming off at right angles with two or more whitish ball-like berries at the junction of the stems. The berries when squashed secrete a white sticky liquid.
Most people associate mistletoe with orchards, but can grow on a wider range of tree species provided they have a fairly soft bark. Apple is the most common host species, but it is also found on limes, hawthorn and poplar. The 1970 and 1990 Botanical Society of the Britain and Ireland (BSBI) indicate that the decline in number of orchards and changes in management has had an impact on mistletoe abundance. More recent surveys indicate possible range expansion in the east of England.
Mistletoe grows in the canopy of trees, with no roots or link to the earth and it remains green in winter when the rest of the tree has died, With such unearthly vitality has easy to understand why mistletoe has been associated with magical properties. It is one of the few pre-Christian examples of plant magic to survive. Many believe mistletoe and poinsettias to be poisonous. Southern European varieties contain some toxins but UK varieties are less toxic and there are no known recent incidents of poisoning. It is strange that for a plant perceived to be toxic to have confectionary named after it. The Celts believed that mistletoe was an all-healing plant – and it has now been discovered to contain anti-tumour compounds.
So when you put up your wreaths of holly and ivy and take a kiss under the mistletoe remember you are taking part in some historic and less historic traditions and celebrate the natural history that is part of Christmas.
Hopefully, in a few days seed packets will arrive in local stores.
I bought a bareroot rose at Walmart - $9.99.
I tend to have rather poor luck with bareroot roses, but I’ll get a few anyway.
It’s been very dreary & chilly here in Florida.
Bkmk
Carryied over from last week's threadTime to make more soup! I was thinking soup could be a prepper thread topic. You can put leftovers in it so nothing goes to waste. It can sit and cook on its own without a lot of interference.
Been looking at crock pots but the biggest seems to be 8-10 quart. I already have a 6 quart Instant Pot which will do slow cooking too and I'll probably upgrade to the 8 quart model sometime.
Roasters come in larger sizes up to 18-22 quarts and work as a slow cooker or even a water bath canner if you get one big enough. I'm looking at a 26 quart one.
I'm wanting to do big cooking and cook less often. In the warm weather, I can cook a ton of meat in the smoker. I haven't used the vertical smoke chamber yet but it runs around 180 degrees so it should work nicely for a big pot of beans.(or two)
From Wikipedia
A perpetual stew, also known as forever soup, hunter's pot,[1][2] or hunter's stew, is a pot into which foodstuffs is placed and cooked. The pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as necessary.[1][3] Such foods can continue cooking for decades or longer if properly maintained. The concept is often a common element in descriptions of medieval inns. Foods prepared in a perpetual stew have been described as being flavorful due to the manner in which the ingredients blend together.[4] Various ingredients can be used in a perpetual stew such as root vegetables, tubers (potatoes, yams, etc.), and various meats.[3]
The tradition of perpetual stew remains prevalent in South and East Asian countries. Notable examples include beef and goat noodle soup served by Wattana Panich in Bangkok, Thailand, which has been cooking for over 49 years as of 2023,[6][7] and oden broth from Otafuku in Asakusa, Japan, which has served the same broth daily since 1945.[8]
Between August 2014 and April 2015, a New York restaurant served a master stock in the style of a perpetual stew for over eight months.[9]
In July 2023, a "Perpetual Stew Club" organized by social media personality Annie Rauwerda gained headlines for holding weekly gatherings in Bushwick, Brooklyn to consume perpetual stew. Hundreds attended the event and brought their own ingredients to contribute to the stew.[10][11][12] The stew lasted for 60 days.[13]
When I was walking around the property that we are in the process of buying with the RE agent, she exclaimed “there are the deer!”. It was a herd of deer, I would say 6-10. I knew there were deer because the little fruit trees have bars of Irish Spring dangling on string off the branches!
We have a terrible deer problem here because the whole place is a gourmet salad bar: hostas, rose bushes, daylilies, tulips, sedum, chrysanthemums. When we replaced the 30-40 yo azaleas, we got boxwoods ‘cause deer don’t like them & they are not fast growing. They were planted in February, early March & are obviously very happy. They are 12-14 inches tall & their growth has mostly been to bush out more than up. They should be fairly easy to dig up.
Mom has declared she is not planting anything the deer like at the new place - she’s tired of the constant battle & covering plants every night. The house has a long front porch with zero landscaping. In the last day or so, I have decided it will be worth the effort to transplant the boxwoods & put them along the porch. Between the boxwoods, coral bells (heuchera) would be beautiful & deer don’t like them either (bitter due to tannin content). Coral bells come in beautiful colors & I am sure we can find one we like & would go with the house colors. Coral bells are often cited as a nice substitute for hostas - similar shapes & flower in a similar manner to hostas. They would also do well in a partially shaded spot. The front porch faces east so morning sun & they would be spared the full sun western exposure.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all from southern New Hampshire!
A question for green thumb people.
Our new neighbors are moving in ski boat thingies, trailers, and other misc. items to store on the other side of our split rail fence.
(Our realtor told us it is TVA land. We trusted, but did not verify. Some is TVA, but the neighbors own a strip next to our fence,e just learned.)
We want to plant something on our side dense enough to hide the view year-round. Trees or bushes with minimal maintenance required. (We’re old.) Maybe 5’-6’ tall.
Any ideas? We’re in Eastern TN, just west of Knoxville.
It was another warm-ish week here in Central Missouri. I took advantage of a few gaps in the rain to work on the grandkids' swing frame. It's fully assembled now, just needs a few fasteners added to the gussetting to help hold it together while they're using it. The ground is too muddy now to carry it across the yard to the spot Mrs. Augie wants it to live, but I can set it down in the grass next to the driveway so they can play on it when they're here this coming weekend.
The long holiday weekend was nice and peaceful here. Was just the wife, daughter, Pops, and myself. Mrs. Augie made a nice pot of chicken noodle soup and I did a big batch of De-lux Chex Mix in the smoker. Christmas Eve we snacked, visited, had some cocktails, and opened a few gifts. Then we got up Christmas morning and did it all again.
The real mayhem begins on Friday when kids and grandkids start rolling in. The Florida bunch won't be able to make it due to work commitments, but 11 out of 15 ain't bad. I'm thawing a boneless beef rib roast, and Mrs. Augie has asked for a spiral-sliced ham for our family meal on the 30th. I don't expect anyone will be going home hungry from that deal.
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My niece’s dog got ‘skunked’ big time the other night. Evidently, in the dark, she thought it was her buddy, who is a black and white cat & she pounced on ‘him’ ... whoops! not the cat! She got a full load of spray - the whole front of her chest was yellow!
My niece did her best with what she had ... with 30 minutes of bathing, she got the yellow off & the dog was ‘tolerable’ (but her bathroom still smells slightly like skunk). The dog got wet yesterday in the rain & the skunk smell was more apparent with wet fur.
The recommended mixture for removing oily skunk spray is hydrogen peroxide, baking soda & dish detergent, then dog shampoo. She only had dish detergent, apple cider vinegar, & dog shampoo. She’s going to get some peroxide to keep on hand just in case there’s a next time.