Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: I'm Lauren vogel Bomb. And during the Christmas season, Polly
Speaker 1: adorn's houses all over the world. The prickly green plant
Speaker 1: in its red berries, whether real or crafted from plastic,
Speaker 1: are popular ornament for anyone wanting to make their space
Speaker 1: a little more festive. But where did this tradition begin?
Speaker 1: Why do we deck our halls with bows of holly
Speaker 1: every December? What does holly represent in the celebration of Christmas?
Speaker 1: Despite its association with the Christmas season, holly did not
Speaker 1: get its name from holy. The name of the plant
Speaker 1: is very similar across both Germanic and Latin languages, and
Speaker 1: its origin is probably the Proto Indo European root word kell,
Speaker 1: which appropriately means prickly or to prick, Proto Indo European
Speaker 1: being the ancient based language of all Indo European languages.
Speaker 1: Even in ancient times, people took advantage of the sharp
Speaker 1: ends of holly's leaves. Druids hung it on windows and
Speaker 1: doorways to fend off evil, which is in spirits. Before
Speaker 1: holly was hung in houses to accompany Christmas trees, it
Speaker 1: was considered to be a sacred plant by the Druids.
Speaker 1: While other plants wilted in winter weather, holly remained green
Speaker 1: and strong, its berries of brightly colored red and the
Speaker 1: harshest of conditions. The Druids regarded holly as a symbol
Speaker 1: of fertility and eternal life, thought to have magical powers.
Speaker 1: In Dreadic lore, cutting down a holly tree would bring
Speaker 1: bad luck. In contrast, hanging the plant in homes was
Speaker 1: believed to bring good luck and protection. Holly was also
Speaker 1: thought to protect homes against lightning strikes. Romans associated holly
Speaker 1: was Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest, and decked
Speaker 1: the halls with its bows during the festival of Saturnalia.
Speaker 1: Early Christian calendars mark Christmas Eve as template exhorditor, meaning
Speaker 1: churches are decked, though supposedly Saturnalias celebrators didn't allow some
Speaker 1: Christians to hang bows in honor of Christmas A. Christians
Speaker 1: adopted the holly tradition from Druid, Celtic and Roman traditions,
Speaker 1: and its symbolism changed to reflect Christian beliefs. Today, Christians
Speaker 1: may consider holly symbolic of Jesus Christ in two ways.
Speaker 1: The red berries represent the blood that Jesus shed on
Speaker 1: the cross on the day he was crucified. Legend states
Speaker 1: that holly berries were originally white, but that the blood
Speaker 1: Christ shed for the sins of humankind stained the berries
Speaker 1: forever read. Holly's pointed leaves symbolized the crown of Thorn's
Speaker 1: placed on Jesus's head before he died on that cross.
Speaker 1: Holly is known as Christ's thorn in German meaning christ thorn.
Speaker 1: Both of these symbols are meant to serve as a
Speaker 1: reminder to Christians of Jesus suffering, but they aren't the
Speaker 1: only stories tying Holly to Jesus. One claims that the
Speaker 1: cross on which Jesus was crucified was constructed of hollywood.
Speaker 1: Another says that Holly sprang up from his footsteps. Less
Speaker 1: common symbolism includes the holly's white blossoms representing purity, and
Speaker 1: the idea that if the holly used decorade a home
Speaker 1: for Christmas prickly, the man of the house will rule
Speaker 1: for the coming year, but if the holly used is smooth,
Speaker 1: the woman will rule. Traditionally, holly has been associated specifically
Speaker 1: with men, for whom it was considered to bring good
Speaker 1: luck and protection. The female counterpart to holly being ivy.
Speaker 1: But let's take a closer look at the science behind
Speaker 1: this legendary plant. Holly botanical name elux aquifolium is a
Speaker 1: shrub or tree found primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia,
Speaker 1: with hundreds of species of the plant, ranging from short
Speaker 1: shrubs two meters high or about six feet, to tall
Speaker 1: trees up to forty meters high or about a hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty feet. It's known primarily for its bright crimson
Speaker 1: berries and prickly green leaves. Hollies can be evergreen, meaning
Speaker 1: the plant's glossy leaves are on the tree year round,
Speaker 1: or deciduous meaning the leaves fall off seasonally. White flowers
Speaker 1: bloom in May or June, and with help from insects
Speaker 1: like bees, the female flowers produce those characteristic berries. Like
Speaker 1: its holiday companion mistletoe, Holly's berries are toxic to humans,
Speaker 1: resulting in nausea and severe stomach aches when ingested. Not
Speaker 1: so for some animals, though. Berries are a vital source
Speaker 1: of food for birds such as thrushes and blackbirds. Although
Speaker 1: the scarlet berries are famously prominent in homes for the
Speaker 1: holiday season, they're not the only useful part of hollyse
Speaker 1: The berries are poisonous, but the green leaves have been
Speaker 1: used in herbal remedies for centuries for various medical conditions
Speaker 1: like dizziness, fever, and hypertension, though there's currently little medical
Speaker 1: proof of the plan's effectiveness. Also, Hollywood is hard and compact,
Speaker 1: making it excellent for carving. It's sometimes used to make
Speaker 1: chess pieces and walking sticks. If you have a passion
Speaker 1: for holly three and sixty five days of the year.
Speaker 1: The mission of the New Jersey based Holly Society of
Speaker 1: America is to stimulate interest, to promote research, and collect
Speaker 1: and disseminate information about the genus Lex. Members can join
Speaker 1: a local chapter, find out where to get the best
Speaker 1: Christmas holly, and gaze upon the Holly of the year,
Speaker 1: as voted on by the h A Board of Trustees.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Sam Abramson and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other
Speaker 1: festive topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com.