The Druids believed that holly, with its shiny leaves and red berries stayed green to keep the earth beautiful when the sacred oak lost it leaves. They wore sprigs of holly in their hair when they went into the forest to watch their priests cut the sacred mistletoe. The Romans used it as a charm to ward off lightning and evil spells and believed its blossoms could repel poison. They sent sprigs of holly to their friends during Saturnalia, the winter festival of the god Saturn. Pagan cultures placed holly on the mantle and window sills to ward off evil spirits and bad weather in the winter.

While Romans continued their pagan worship, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus . To avoid persecution, they decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly lost its pagan association and became a symbol of Christmas.

Legend states that the holly used to have white berries. But when the crown of thorns was woven of holly branches and placed on Christ's head, the blood which trickled onto the crown turned the berries red. The green leaves represent eternal life, white holly berries represent Jesus' purity and black represents his death.

Another legend tells about one night as the holy family was fleeing to Egypt, Joseph heard the soldiers riding behind them. Since there were no rocks or caves to hide in, the family hid beneath the branches of a holly bush. Normally, the bush would not have offered much shelter since it had lost all its leaves in the fall. But that night the holly miraculously pushed forth its leaves and grew sharp thorns to hide the family. Since then the holly has borne leaves all year long.

Druids would cut mistletoe from a tree to hang in their houses to bring happiness, romance and peace. Because of the plant’s pagan associations, the Church banned it from Christmas ceremonies. Mistletoe was also thought to influence human fertility and was prescribed to individuals who had problems bearing children. Mistletoe has also been used in medicine. It has been used as treatment for pleurisy, gout, epilepsy, rabies, and poisoning. Mistletoe also played a role in a superstition concerning marriage. It was believed that kissing under the mistletoe increased the possibility of marriage in the upcoming year.

Although mistletoe has been used in the treatment of several ailments, the berries are poisonous. Individuals using mistletoe during the holiday season should keep the sprigs out of the reach of children. For safety reasons, many companies have replaced the berries with artificial, plastic berries.

Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were cultivated by the A ztec Indians. The colorful bracts were used to make a reddish purple dye. The Aztecs also made a fever medicine from the poinsettia's milky sap. After the Spanish conquest and the introduction of Christianity, poinsettias began to be used in Christian rituals. Franciscan priests used the poinsettia in their nativity processions. It was brought to the United States a hundred years ago by Dr. Joel Poinsett, our first ambassador to Mexico.

In one village in Mexico it was customary for each person to place a gift on the altar of the church for the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. One Christmas an angel told a small child to take some dried up weeds he'd found along the road to the church for the Baby Jesus. He began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers. Since then the flower has been called "The Flower of the Holy Night". The Poinsettia is one of the very few plants that have become a traditional Christmas plant because of their bright color.

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Scripts from LISSA EXPLAINS ALL
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