HEIGH HO ! THE HOLLY !

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 164, 23 December 1926, Page 3

HEIGH HO ! THE HOLLY !

ROMANTIC ORIGINS OF YULE TIDE DECORATIONS.

When we_ decorate our Homes with holly each Christmas few of us realise that we are following in the steps of the early Christians of Rome, who regarded and revered it as the emblem of Christ’s life—the sharp prickles of the leaves, the bitterness of the bark and the blood-red l of its berries typifying the Saviour’s sufferings. To the Druids, the plant was not only an object of profound veneration; it was supposed to possess such magical healing virtues that it was an antidote for all the ills that flesh is heir to. At the winter solstice, so the story is told, the ancient Britons, with tlicir escort of Druidical priests, sallied forth to the woods with great pomp and rejoicings to gather the “parasite.” When the festal procession reached an oak on which the mystic berries gleamed, two white bulls were bound to the tree; and the chief Druid, arrayed in white, emblematic of purity, cut the sacred plant with a knife of gold. The bulls were then sacrificed, and a round of festivities followed, at the conclusion of which the mistletoe was divided into small portions and distributed among the people, who “hung up the sprays over the entrance to their dwellings as a propitiation to the sylvan deities during the season of frost and cold.” Curiously enough the mistletoe, in spite of its ancient symbolism does not seem to have figured among our Yuletide decorations until comparatively modern times. Indeed, as recently as the eighteenth century, it was regarded chiefly, if not solely, as a medicine. Thus in 1719 we find a Sir John Colbatch, an eminent doctor of his day, publishing a pamphlet thus romantically headed:—

A Dissertation concerning Mistletoe. A most Wonderful Specific Remedy for the Cure of Convulsive Distempers. Calculated for the Benefit of the Poor as well as the Rich, and heartily recommended for the Common Good of Mankind. There is no suggestion of Christmas or kissing in the pamphlet. And this is his account of how the idea of its medicinal use occurred to him:— “Being one day upon a journey, I saw* some hazel trees plentifully flocked with mistletoe. It immediately entered into my mind that there must be something extraordin- , ary in that uncommon beautiful plant; that the Almighty had designed it for further and more noble uses than barely to feed thrushes, or to bo hung up superstitiously in houses to drive away evil spirits; and that the mistletoe was capable o'f being serviceable to mankind.” How the mistletoe lapsed from its ancient state as an object of deep veneration to its modern use as a pretext for kissing history does not seem to record. The use of holly in England for Christmas decoration has a very different lineage. It was a hoary veteran — probably thousands of years old—when Stowe wrote in his “Survey of London,” that “against the feast of Christmas every man’s house, as also their parish chinches, were decked with holly, ivy, haves, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green. The conduits and standards in the streets were likewise garnished.” And again how, “in the year 1444, by tempest of thunder and lightning, towards the morning of Christmas Day, at the Leadenhall in Cornliill, n standard of tree being set up in the midst of the pavement fast in the ground, nailed full of holly and ivy for disport of 'Christmas to the people, was torn up and cast down bv the malignant spirit, and the stones of the pavement all about were east in the streets.” Holly is said to stand for strength, for prudence and foresight: and is thus alwavs the opposite to the clinging ivy. It has bNm the subject of many a song and carol through the centuries, such as the well-known song in “As You Like It’’: ‘Heigh ho! siog heigh ho! unto the green holly; Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.

Then heigh ho! the holly! thin life is most jolly.” “Here comes hoily that is so gent To please all men in his intent, Allelujah! “Whosoever against holly do cry And the mediaeval carol:— In a rope shall 1 e hung full high. Allelujah! “Whosoever against holly do sing He ifiiv weep and his hands wring. Allelujah!” The laurel rightly takes its place among Christmas decorations; for it is said to be “a charm against sorrow, against accidents, misfortune and disease.” It was the plant of Apollo, and from time immemorial has been sacred to poets. To quote an old writer: —“It is fit for halls and stately rooms where there be a wedding kept or such like feast, it will be sure to take a place mure eminent than the rest. ’ ’ Laurel and bay—which figured as rewards to tin 1 victors in Pagan games — w’ere hung up by ancient Christians at Yuletide as a reminder of that victory over the powers of darkness which began with the birth of a Conqueror who should “spring up like a tender plant and always be green and flourishing and live for evermore.” The Christmas tree can boast no such long and romantic history as the holly and mistletoe, laurel and ivy, but it need fear nor rivalry with any of them all. It is generally thought to have boon introduced into England by Prince Albert, but it can claim a history at least a few years longer; for on December 27, 1529, Greville wrote: “On Christmas Day the Princess Lievcn got up a little fete such as is customary all over Germany. Three trees in great pots were put upon a long table covered with linen; each tree was il-

luminated with circular tiers of coloured wax candles —blue, green, red and white. Before each was displayed a quantity of toys, gloves, pocket handkerchiefs, work boxes, books and various articles, presents made to the owner of the tree.” 111-luck was supposed to attend all who did not have decorations removed from church or house by Candlemas Day. In fact it was said that if a single berry or leaf remained after that date dire misfortune would befall the family who occupied it during the next yea r. Herrick, in his “ Hesperidcs,” refers to another form of the popular idea: Down with rosemary and so Down with the baies and mistletoe; Down with the holly, ivie, all Wherewith ye drest the Christmas Ilall, That so the superstitious find Not one least branch there left behind. For look how manv leaves there be, trip!”