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Merry Christmas one and all. Today we are going to look at another seasonal plants. So lets deck the halls with boughs of holly.

Holly was thought to repel evil. In some places keeping wreaths with holly up after the Twelfth Night of Christmas is bad luck. In others sprigs from church holly wreaths were though to be good luck. In Japan one popular good luck charms is a glass ball etched with holly leaves. Another popular charm consists of a holly leaf and skewer. In Japan sprigs are also hung sometimes in doorways to keep devils away. In Medieval Europe single ladies tied sprigs of holly to their beds to keep the devil from making them witches. Holly was also thought to protect against thunder and lightening. In ancient Rome the plant was associated with their sun god, Saturn. In Christianity the berries remind us of the blood Jesus shed and the leaves remind us of the crown of thorns. In folklore holly was also brought into the homes to serve as shelter for fairies. In Celtic mythology the Holly King ruled ruled during the time from the summer solstice to the winter solstice.