WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Why is holly a holiday thing?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck and it's ho ho short stuff. You're on

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<v Speaker 1>short Stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. We're stealing one potential thing from our Christmas

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<v Speaker 2>episode just to do a Christmas style shorty to get

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<v Speaker 2>in the spirit of things. And we're gonna be talking

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<v Speaker 2>about holly today. Like you know, the plant, it's a shrub,

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<v Speaker 2>it can be a tree. It's in North America, it's

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<v Speaker 2>in Asia, it's in Europe. There are a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>different species and like I said, some can be little, short,

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<v Speaker 2>shorty shrubs. Some can be big old trees. But everyone

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<v Speaker 2>knows holly for those waxy leaves that will draw blood

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<v Speaker 2>and those little crimson berries that grow on them.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. But there's something about holly that I did not

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<v Speaker 1>know until I was studying was that they bloom in

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<v Speaker 1>the spring and early summer. Have you ever seen a

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<v Speaker 1>holly plant bloom white flowers?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know. I My dirty secret is I don't

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<v Speaker 2>love holly just because it's so pointy and sharp. It's

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<v Speaker 2>almost like a thorn bush, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I have a big old holly tree outside the

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<v Speaker 1>house and oh yeah, it was getting a little thin,

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<v Speaker 1>so I've started to fertilize it twice a year, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is not fun to get under there and fertilize

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<v Speaker 1>the holly. Yeah, that's no good, but it is pretty.

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<v Speaker 1>And I love all the berries, and I love the

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<v Speaker 1>birds coming to eat the berries, and I love that

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<v Speaker 1>the birds love that. I love the birds coming to

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<v Speaker 1>eat the berries, and so on and so forth. So

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<v Speaker 1>I do have a special place in my heart for holly.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we'll go for the most boring part of this all,

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<v Speaker 2>which is root words holly. It's a Christmas thing, obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>but it didn't come from the word holy, which you

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<v Speaker 2>may be surprised about. I wasn't. Old English will translate

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<v Speaker 2>it as holigan nice Old Norse, holf nice, Dutch, holste

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<v Speaker 2>nice French. What would that be, frenchie hoo hoo nice,

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<v Speaker 2>sound like you from Philly hagey. And then Welsh is

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<v Speaker 2>a sealin and.

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<v Speaker 1>Think that's how you say that, But how you say

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<v Speaker 1>I have no idea. There's only like ten people who

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<v Speaker 1>can pronounce Welsh German.

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<v Speaker 2>I know this one is stech Palmer.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I like that one.

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<v Speaker 2>But it all probably comes from Proto Indo European languages

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<v Speaker 2>at the base which is q e l, which means

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<v Speaker 2>prickly or too prick.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, there you go. End of root word segment.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, wake up everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>So one thing I didn't know is apparently in long

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<v Speaker 1>standing tradition because this is Holly's another great example of

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<v Speaker 1>how you associate with Christmas. Christians have kind of adopted

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<v Speaker 1>it with their own kind of symbolism associated with it,

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<v Speaker 1>but it goes back way further than that, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of from all over the place because holly grows

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<v Speaker 1>in not just Europe, not just North America, but Asia

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<v Speaker 1>as well. It's a really well traveled, well trod shrub.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah that because it stands out so much in winter.

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<v Speaker 1>It's usually evergreen. Those leaves are unmistakable. The berries are

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<v Speaker 1>just so bright red against like a snowy background. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it does make a lot of sense that cultures from

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<v Speaker 1>around the world and over the course of time would

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<v Speaker 1>have been like that. I'm going to drape a bunch

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<v Speaker 1>of symbolism on that plant.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, for sure. I think a lot of times it's

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<v Speaker 2>associated through like ancient cultures, with good luck, in this case,

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<v Speaker 2>good luck for men specifically, because for good luck for women,

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<v Speaker 2>ivy is that counterpart and if you've ever heard the

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<v Speaker 2>English Christmas carol, the Holly and the Ivy, that's what

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<v Speaker 2>they're talking about. Yeah, it is again a sacred plant

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<v Speaker 2>from the Druids. A lot of cultures thought it was

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<v Speaker 2>like good luck to put it in your house because

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<v Speaker 2>it's hardy and strong, and again those bright red colors

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<v Speaker 2>when it's harsh outside means it's got to be good

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<v Speaker 2>luck to put it on your house. But it gets

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<v Speaker 2>even more specific sometimes that it'll ward off lightning and

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<v Speaker 2>lightning storm. Pretty cool, it'll protect your house. If you

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<v Speaker 2>were in Rome, they would associate it with Saturn, so

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<v Speaker 2>it obviously came about during their Saturnalia festival, a.

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<v Speaker 1>Lot which has a huge influence on Christmas. That was

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<v Speaker 1>the Romans mid to late December winter festival. Yeah, so

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<v Speaker 1>they used holly and then when the Christians came around,

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<v Speaker 1>the Romans were like, you're not allowed to use holly

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<v Speaker 1>for your Christmas celebration whatever that is. Yeah, it was

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<v Speaker 1>banned apparently at least at first. And then, like you said,

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<v Speaker 1>the Druids also had their own thing going on too,

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<v Speaker 1>So this is all happening at different times. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>the Romans would have been celebrating Saturnalia, while the Druids

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<v Speaker 1>would have been celebrating their own thing. I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>that one influenced the other. Yeah, I know that they

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<v Speaker 1>were connected via Rome at one point in time, But

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like the druids celebration and use of holly

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<v Speaker 1>in the wintertime was contemporaneous and not influenced by the Romans.

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<v Speaker 2>It could be wrong, though, all Right, I bet someone knows.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'd love to know.

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<v Speaker 2>You did mention some Christian symbolism. You know, anytime you

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<v Speaker 2>see anything red, generally in Christianity, that's going to symbolize

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<v Speaker 2>the blood of Christ from the crucifixion. You know, the

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<v Speaker 2>legend was that those berries were white, but then Christ's

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<v Speaker 2>blood stained them red as a reminder. And then the

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<v Speaker 2>pointed you know, the pointy points that I hate so much,

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<v Speaker 2>symbolized the crown of thorns during the Crucifixion, and in fact,

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<v Speaker 2>in German it is known as Christ's storn or Christ's thorn.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's pretty obvious.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Should we take a break?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah? We should?

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<v Speaker 2>All right, enough of that, let's talk after the break

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<v Speaker 2>about the plant itself. Right after this.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, Chuck, you made a lot of big promises about

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<v Speaker 1>talking about the holly plant itself before the break, and

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like we have to deliver on them.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I mean it's generally an evergreen, but not always.

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<v Speaker 2>It can also be deciduous.

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<v Speaker 1>Which is kind of weird. Yeah, how was that it?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's all I got.

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<v Speaker 1>The most of them are evergreen, though, like I said,

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<v Speaker 1>around the world, which is why people are like, I

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<v Speaker 1>really like that plant in wintertime. I guess that they

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<v Speaker 1>are good in shade, they're good in sunlight. They do

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<v Speaker 1>like well drained soil, and they are either a male

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<v Speaker 1>plant or a female plant, which means they're dioecious. Yeah, yeah, dioecious.

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<v Speaker 1>I nailed it. And the male plants and the female

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<v Speaker 1>plants both flour, which is how they pollinate. But only

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<v Speaker 1>the female plants are the ones that produce berries.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. And you know they need to be close

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<v Speaker 2>to one another obviously for that production to occur, so

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<v Speaker 2>the male plant has to be near enough to a

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<v Speaker 2>female plant. Sure that pollination happens thanks to our little

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<v Speaker 2>bee friends, and also, as it turns out, well, not

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<v Speaker 2>cross pollination, but as far as you know, spreading that seed,

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<v Speaker 2>that's thanks mostly to birds obviously.

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<v Speaker 1>Well yeah, the birds like to eat the berries with

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<v Speaker 1>the four seeds in them, and they go poop them out,

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<v Speaker 1>and a new holly plant grows. Have you ever looked

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<v Speaker 1>down and seen a little holly plant sticking up out

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<v Speaker 1>of the ground.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I stomp that thing out.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that had a bird poop there at some point.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I'd never thought of it that way. I can

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<v Speaker 2>only think of it that way from now on, though.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean it's true. There's really no other way

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<v Speaker 1>to look.

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<v Speaker 2>At You know, who doesn't like to eat those red

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<v Speaker 2>berries humans? Because it's no good for you. It's toxic

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<v Speaker 2>to us. I mean, I don't know if it could kill,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd probably have to eat a ton of those, and

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<v Speaker 2>you'd probably be vomiting long before you died, such that

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<v Speaker 2>you would say, hey, maybe don't eat those. But yeah, nausea, bad,

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<v Speaker 2>bad stomach ache. So don't eat those red berries, which

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<v Speaker 2>is you know, big for kids, because when you see

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<v Speaker 2>that red berry in your kid, it looks like something

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<v Speaker 2>you should pick off and eat.

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<v Speaker 1>It does for sure. Yeah. There's an old druid legend

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<v Speaker 1>that if you eat a holly berry it'll upset your

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<v Speaker 1>stomach pretty good. There's also I had not heard of this,

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<v Speaker 1>but there's something called birdline that you can make by

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<v Speaker 1>boiling the bark of a holly tree specifically, and it

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<v Speaker 1>makes the sticky substance that you can then take and

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<v Speaker 1>like paint onto the limbs of say a holly tree

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<v Speaker 1>or any treesy and it's so sticky it'll trap small

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<v Speaker 1>birds that alight on those limbs. I guess the only

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<v Speaker 1>reason you would want to do this if you want

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<v Speaker 1>to capture a bird, which you shouldn't be doing anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you don't get to a bird in time,

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<v Speaker 1>the bird will starve to death. It's that sticky and

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<v Speaker 1>holds that fast. So it's illegal actually in some countries.

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<v Speaker 1>So please don't start making birdline because you heard about

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<v Speaker 1>it on this episode.

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<v Speaker 2>No, don't do that, But what you could do if

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<v Speaker 2>you're into carving things. Apparently the holly's wood is very hard,

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<v Speaker 2>great for carving, and a lot of chess pieces can

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<v Speaker 2>be made out of Hollywood because Hollywood, which I think

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<v Speaker 2>is kind of cool. Because I my friend have started

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<v Speaker 2>playing chess for the first time since probably high school,

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<v Speaker 2>because Ruby is in chess club and she's asked me

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<v Speaker 2>to play chess with her, so we've been playing every night,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's having a ball playing chess with her?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that why you picked this episode?

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<v Speaker 2>No, it's not why, but it's pretty interesting because I

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<v Speaker 2>was played. I dabbled in chess in high school. I

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<v Speaker 2>was never good or learned any strategy or technique or

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<v Speaker 2>took any classes or clubs. So it's all just intuition.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I'm basically at the point where she is

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<v Speaker 2>at ten years old and her kind of learning strategy

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit, and so we're like pretty evenly matched,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's just a lot of fun. Like I'm it's

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<v Speaker 2>opening brain pathways that I'd like, strategical pathways that aren't

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<v Speaker 2>tapped into very much for me. So I'm really digging it.

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<v Speaker 2>And for Christmas, I already threw down in like a

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<v Speaker 2>really nice handcarved chest set for us as a little surprise.

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<v Speaker 1>That's cool. How'd she get into chess?

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<v Speaker 2>Just chess club at school she signed up for I

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<v Speaker 2>have no idea why. Probably some boy was in it

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<v Speaker 2>that she had a crush on, would be my guess.

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<v Speaker 1>Has she She's like this is gonna make a bow

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<v Speaker 1>tie spin? When I joined, I think so? Has she

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<v Speaker 1>seen the Queen's gambit yet.

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<v Speaker 2>No, I don't know how much you get into that, Yett.

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<v Speaker 2>I bet searching for Bobby Fisher could be a good

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<v Speaker 2>one though, for her.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, all right, we'll start with that. Make sure she

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<v Speaker 1>seems the queen's gambit at some point.

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<v Speaker 2>All right.

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<v Speaker 1>One other thing you can do with Hollywood, because it's

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<v Speaker 1>so dense and sturdy, is to create a walking stick

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<v Speaker 1>out of it. Oh and if you carve a walking

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<v Speaker 1>stick out of Hollywood and there's not a druid on

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<v Speaker 1>the end, throw it away and start over because you

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<v Speaker 1>did it wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>That sounds tad right.

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<v Speaker 1>You got anything else?

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<v Speaker 2>I got nothing else?

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<v Speaker 1>Oh, everybody? Then that means this happy Holiday edition of

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<v Speaker 1>short Stuff is out.

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<v Speaker 2>Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For

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