December Birth Flower.
Traditionally holly has been linked with December and Christmas and is also the birth flower for December. However, the holly plant can actually be seen throughout the year since it is an evergreen shrub.
History of Holly
When the Christianity begins to dominate in Europe, the Holly became the symbol of Christmas. Besides, according to some ancient versions, this plant was used to make a crown of Christ, and the berries of this plant were white before after they became red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Additionally, this flower means joy and reconciliation.
Holly has been thought of like the Christmas plant that adorns so many houses during the Christmas season but there is far more history attached to this deep green, spiky plant with its radiant, red berries. In Ancient history Romans started the tradition of decorating with Holly during the observance of the festival of Saturnalia. This festival was originally held on the 17th of December and later progressed to festivities that went up until the 23rd of December. It is believed that the Romans used Holly to decorate their homes for this festival and has become a tradition that has been taken on by the modern world as well.
Significance, Meaning And Symbolism
As one of the Christian holidays, Christmas and the use of holly for decoration took on a meaning all of its own. The red berries represented the blood of Christ while the spiky leaves symbolized the crown of thorns that He wore during the crucifixion. To the ancient Celts, the sight of evergreens such as holly was a symbol of hope and rebirth. They also believed that woodland spirits would have a safe haven during the winter months when the holly was brought inside. Plants like this one were also said to bring good luck and protection while warding off misfortune at the same time.
The Celtic myths described the Holly as an evergreen brother of an oak tree. According to its lunar calendar, the sacred Oak is ruled by a «light» part of the year, but the holy is ruled by the «dark» one. In the sacred calendar of the Druids, a Holly-King called the «dark heir». Mythological unicorn also symbolizes the Holly. It could be interesting that at Buckingham Palace there is stored the collection of Eduard, where the main exhibit is the horn, made of Holly, which is considered as the horn of a unicorn. In the medieval, it was a common opinion that it could protect the king out of poison.
According to American Indian legend, magic drink “mate” was given to the Indians of the Guarani tribe by the Gods. This drink was made of the Holly leaves. The name of this drink is different in some varieties of this legend, however, the facts that it brings joy and gladness in the Indians life remains unchanged.
The Forgotten One
The holly sometimes overpowers the fact that there is indeed another birth flower for the month of December. The other birth flower for December is the Narcissus or the daffodil as it is commonly known today. This beautiful golden flower with its tubular head and golden petals set off against its deep green leaves and stems make for a very pretty picture. As a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings, this beautiful flower is refreshing on any table and is said to bring good luck to your home. A bunch of these daffodils will bring cheer to the recipient of these bulbous plants will caution needs to be taken when giving a single bloom as this is symbolic that misfortune is on the horizon.
For December
There is an opinion that the Holy King and Santa Claus were the same persons. According to this opinion, the «Flower King» was combined with Saint Nicolas, who was a bishop of IX century. As known, he helped to poor families, throwing gold coins into the shoes, abandoned under the door. Its prototype, during the time turned to Santa Claus, which, soon was popularized, thanks to Thomas Nast, who designed this prototype for Coca Cola. That was a story of how this plant and its flowers came into our lives and became a symbol of Christmas.
