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When Jesus told his disciples to spread his message of love the whole world, they did just that. But while doing so, they encountered people who had cultural and religious traditions different from those with which they were familiar.
Through trial and error, these missionaries learned that instead of criticizing and dismissing others’ symbols, it was much better to incorporate these symbols into their Christian message.
One of the popular symbols of Christmastime today is that of the holly, especially hollies with red berries.
In pre-Christian days, holly was one of the plants that stayed green throughout the cold winter months. In time, it was associated with feasts such as Saturnalia that celebrated the god of agriculture, creation and time. It was a plant also associated with the coming of spring. People used holly to decorate their houses and gifts.
Celtic people also used holly in many of their religious celebrations and saw the plant as a way to protect themselves from evil spirits, much like some people today use wind chimes to protect their houses from ghosts and other unwanted spirits.
Today, holly has come to be associated with the traditional colors of Christmas, green and red.
If you are a “Christmas freak” like I am, you might be interested in Tanya Gulevich’s book, Encyclopedia of Christmas.
