The Glenwood post., 1908-12-12

ivy but little. in American decorations
at Christmas. since both plants are
exceedingly rare here But in England
the use of the ivy at least is universal,
and the references to il in Christmas
song and story alone would fill small
We ne
des its claim to appropriate
ness for the Christmas season which
it holds in common with other ever
greens, it has Two especially strong
recommendation OF its own. On ac-
count of its habi, of ciinging strongly
to its supporting tree or wall, IL is
popular symbol of friendship and
fidelity, and as suCh an excellent deco
ration for the season of good will and
universal brotherhood. And it was,
in Roman DAYS. sacred to Bacchus,
who, when baby was hidden by his
aunt, 1no. among its leaves, to save
him from Juno's destructive wrath
Prynne says:
At Christmas men do always Ivy get
And in each corner of the house it set.
But why do they thcn use that Bacchul
weed
Because they meaU then Bacchus-like to
feed
This satirical explanation was but
too true in the earlier days, when
Christmas lasted for weeks. and was
given over to a reVelry almost wholly
heather in character
To-day, in America the Christmas
decorations almost exclusively are OF
holly, which, for all its popularity, is
other holiday preenery. To be suro
we make a spariDr use of the mistle-
toe, which, from he ancient DruidicaI
meaning of purity given to its wax
white berries, and from its use by
them in the marriage rite, has cYmo
to give charter Tor kissing as broad
as the wind And we have added the
bitter-sweet, which has no traditional
signitication whatever is not an
evergreen, and is 10 he tolerated
merely for its heanIys sake, and for
the slight suggestion ii gives of tho
holly berry.
Our American holly is sid to ba
less beautiful than the European
plant, having leaves of n duller green
But. making all allowances for pos
sible disadvantages ii still is ve-
markably beautiful tree And as n
symbol of the immortality which il i5
the seasons special mission to teach,
1t surely has no rival. The leaves re.
main on the branches for three years,
losing their hold only when they aro
pushed of at last by tho growing buds
of spring.
Throughout England, so little is ttt
supremacy disputed that 1t is popular.
ly known as Christmas" Just as tho
hawthorn is called The May"
Its name has been a matter Of con.
siderable interest. TheOphrastus and
other Greek authors named tho plant
Agria; that is. wild or of the fields.
The Romans formed from this tho
word Agrifolium and called It also
AQuifolium, from actum, sharp, and
folium, leaf. Eanhin and Loureiro
first named it Hex, from the resemb.
lance of its leaves TO those of tho
Quercus Hex, a species of oak which
was the true Hex of Virgil. Linnaeus
adopted the name Hex for the genus,
and preserved the name Aquifoiirm
for the most anciently known species.
Our popular name, holly, probably
is corruption of the word holy. as
Turner in his herbal calls it holy, and
holy tree. The thorny foliage, and
the berries like drops of bright blood,
could scarcely fail to remind Chris
tian OF the crown of thorns, and this,
together with the universal use of tho
plant in the churches at Christmas
easily would account for the name.
In Germany il is known as Christ
dorm. The Danish name is Christnrn
and the Swedish Christtorn The
same name Christ's thorn, is found In
some parts of England. But as no
legend connects the holly with the
crown of thorns, this name, universal
among the Germanic peoples, must be
merely the result of its appearance
and of its Christmas popularity, as
before suggested.