BRINGING in greenery for the decoration of buildings at the midwinter festivals is a custom of great antiquity. Centuries before Christianity, evergreens, which flourish when everything else in nature is withered or dead, were regarded as symbols of undying life. Various plants have been used for Christmas decorations, such as laurel, rosemary, bay, box, fir and yew, but the most popular, now as in the past, are holly, ivy and mistletoe. They are strong life-symbols not only because they are evergreen, but because unlike most other plants they bear fruit in winter. In the southern counties of England in the seventeenth century 'Bay and laurel...is very Common, particularly at our Universities, where it is Customary to adorn not only the Common Windows of the Town, and of the Colleges, but also to bedeck the Chapels of the Colleges with Branches of Laurel. Laurel was considered to be an emblem of peace, joy and victory. The prickly holly with its bright red berries was a traditional masculine symbol bringing fortune and fertility to the household, while the smooth variegated holly and the trailing ivy were considered to be the female luck symbols. Sterile holly was widely believed to bring bad luck to the farmer and his livestock, and in a poor berry year it was thought wise to put a sprig of ivy (perhaps with the berries reddened with 'raddle' left over from the sheep-marking) in the Christmas decorations to avoid misfortune. It was customary in the seventeenth century, in parts of Oxfordshire, particularly at Lanton, 'for the maid-servant to ask the man for ivy to dress the house, and if the man denies or neglects to fetch in ivy, the maid steals away a pair of his breeches, and nails them up to the gate in the yard or highway.'2 At what period mistletoe came to be recognized as a Christmas decoration is uncertain; there are carols in praise of holly and ivy of an even earlier date than the fifteenth century, but allusions to mistletoe are very rare, even into the eighteenth century. Coles recorded that it was 'carryed many miles to set up in houses about Christmas time, when it was adorned with a white glistening berry.'3 The importance of Christmas evergreen decorations in England is shown by the strict rules regarding their length of stay and the care taken in disposing of them when they were removed from the walls, a process which varies between and often within each county. In Yorkshire evergreens were probably hung on Christmas Eve.4 The Gentleman's Magazine (May 1811)recorded that in the North Riding churches and houses were decorated with holly, which interestingly enough remained until Good Friday, the longest time I have recorded for this particular plant. It may have been left up for protective purposes, as was mistletoe. In the East Riding it was the custom for a man to bring in evergreens on Christmas Day,5 although this may have been merely a seasonal good luck custom, a type of first footing. Both here and in the West Riding it was considered bad luck to keep the Christmas evergreens in the house after Twelfth Night, but even when taken down they had to be thrown away, not burnt indoors, or ill-fortune would result.6 A similar belief was held in Lincolnshire. In this county also, holly and other evergreens were put up in churches and houses on Christmas Eve, but
Read full abstract
Nov 1, 1990
Scott L Waugh + 1
