Holly

So many common symbols of the season have their roots deep in our collective history. Rather than launch a diatribe on how the Christians stole Solstice, or urgings to put the "Sol" back in Solstice and the fire back in the Yule Log, or exhortations to put "Christ" back in "Christmas" I am writing here to highlight the traditions we share in the common spirit of the season - we are all celebrating some very sacred, spiritual aspects of life, regardless of our affiliation; and also as an hommage to the ancient ancestors who, in their connection to Mother Earth and the cycle of life and the seasons, gave us these symbols and traditions. This little series is by no means academic; I'm reaching deep into the recesses of my lately-rather-shabby memory in a spirit of, well - fun. This is not intended to disrespect any belief system. I enjoy history and looking at the origins of traditions - that's all. (Also, I'm a self-professed nerd, trapped in the house with some sort of plague-like illness [just a cold? Pssht!] with two other sick people, one of them a Little, and my husband who, to hear him tell it, is likely terminally ill. I need some amusement and mind-sharpening.)

First up: holly. It's a sacred plant in many traditions.

Holly has been symbolic of fertility and everlasting life. There are a few basic traditions that I can think of: that of the Romans and Saturnalia, and the pagan traditions (and by that I'm thinking of the basic Norse and Celtic myths), and the more recent Christian ones.


The Romans paid respect to the god Saturn at this time of year. They feasted and made very merry for about a week, ending around 23 December (which is interesting to note, because the Solstice can fall, I think, anywhere between 20 and 23 December, depending on the year). Holly was the sacred plant associated with Saturn, and was a common gift to the god and to one another.


Then you have the Holly King and Oak King. The Kings may be specific to the Norse traditions, though I can't be sure. The Oak King symbolizes the new year and rules from mid-winter (winter Solstice) to midsummer (summer Solstice). The Holly King rules from midsummer to mid-winter and is symbolic of winter. At Yule-time and midsummer, the Kings struggle for the favour of the Goddess. At Yule, the Oak King kills the Holly King (I believe by cutting of his head) or sends him away, at the least, and with this victory brings or is symbolic of light and growth.


There are so many symbols for and links back to each of the Kings. The Kings struggling twice a year might seem a little airy-fairy, I'm sure, but there's also an Irish fable of the robin redbreast (Oak King) finding the wren (Holly King) in either a holly bush or an ivy bush, and killing the wren -- or the new year succeeding the old.


The Holly King was symbolic of winter. What happens at midsummer, after all? Days shorten, darkness begins to rule in a literal sense, the weather turns colder day by day, crops are harvested after that point and vegetation and many animals go to rest.


The Kings are either twins who struggle, or perhaps the same person, reborn cyclically in a new form to rule the seasons. I believe the sabbats of the year are associated with the king's lifecycle. Some traditions hold that his marriage at midsummer to the Goddess is consummated so fully that it results in his death (imagine that wedding night! Yikes). At Samhain (Halloween), he awaits rebirth via the Goddess - and part of the Yule tradition is the birth of the Child of Promise (who, I believe, then becomes the Oak King - or is *like* the Oak King in that he brings new year and light).

It may seem odd, but the Holly King is believed to be an antecedent to Santa Claus. That's a topic for another post, though!

In most Christian traditions, holly was believed to be very powerful, with magickal powers. It was hung on entryways to homes, to ward off evil spirits and witches... Who usually roam in the darkness, or are considered "dark", hmm? It's also taken as symbolic of Christ's crown of thorns, and the berries, of the blood shed in redemption. The carol "The Holly and the Ivy" is heavy with Christian symbolism - the white flower for the Virgin Mary, the red berry for the blood Christ shed, the thorn and so on.

So it's all very confusing. It would be difficult for one tradition to claim it as their own. There are many traditions that hold holly as sacred and/or powerfully symbolic, from the Romans, the Norse, Druids and Christians, and likely many others. It's a beautiful, sacred plant. It's a little sad that as a natural species, it's now becoming rare in many areas. Maybe symbolic of our losing touch with our origins, too?