On the flight to Egypt, Joseph realised that Herod’s soldiers were drawing near; their donkey was not a match for them in speed. The terrain was bare, with no caves in which to hide. So Joseph and Mary burrowed underneath a holly bush, with Mary hiding Jesus as best she could. The holly, whose branches had been bare, sprouted leaves with thorns, and the soldiers reasoned that nobody could have braved the barbs to hide there. On that day, the holly became an evergreen plant. This is not strictly true, because some of the 150 species of holly are deciduous.
The holly bush has wood that is easily bent; and another legend says that the Crown of thorns was woven from it. The legend says that the berries were white at the time, but they were stained red forever with the blood of Jesus.
Then there is the story about Reuven, an orphan who was with the shepherds when the angels gave the news that Jesus was born. Since they said he was a King, on the way he wove a crown of holly branches for him, as he had no gift to take. But when he placed it beside the other gifts, it looked so plain and unappealing that he cried with shame. The Christ Child reached out, touched the crown, and caused its leaves to sparkle shiny and green. Reuben’s tears became the crimson berries.
These are but three of the many legends surrounding the holly; this plant, however, also has mythological and medicinal associations. Alternative names for holly are Christ's Thorn, Ilex, Hulver Bush, Holm, Hulm, Holme Chase, and Holy Tree.
Druids believed that the holly was sacred, and that it symbolised eternal life; it was an evergreen, according to them, because the Sun favoured it. It was also associated with prophetic dreams, visions, and magic.
Celts believed that the Holly King ruled over death and winter; the Oak King ruled over life and summer. Like Norsemen, they planted a holly bush near their homes for protection. O this day, some people believe that when holly is hung in a barn, animals will beef up and not fall ill.
The Holly King, a belligerent giant wielding a thick holly branch for a club, became the Green Knight of Arthurian Legend, who challenged Sir Gawain during a Yuletide feast. Pliny wrote that a branch of holly, thrown in the direction of an animal, would make induce him to lie down beside where it fell. Rabbit-breeders place a stick of holly in the hutches to restore appetites of female rabbits that would have birthed.
The Brothers Grimm mention Mother Holly in at least two tales – the one where her cat’s belly made a noise like thunder, and the one where the step-sisters Rose and Blanche behave differently when they arrived at her house through magic portal in the well.
When the Church forbade the use of mistletoe because of its pagan connotations, someone had the idea to give the holly an aura of association with things religious, and its place in Christmastide tradition was assured.
Holly is believed to impart good luck to men in the same way that ivy protects women; it is assumed that whoever brings the first stem of Christmas holly into the house will rule the household for the following year. Virgins hung holly over their beds on Christmas Eve, to protect themselves from Christmas goblins. This harked back to the sentiments expressed by Romans, when they gave holly as a charm against evil, to their friends at Saturnalia
A holly stem is traditionally hung over doors and windows to repel lightning (perhaps because the leaves sometimes have jagged lines), and hexes. As often happens, this superstition could have been engendered by a grain of truth. Holly bushes and trees do in fact conduct lightning into the ground better than most trees, with the least damage to the tree itself.
Some people think that a holly bough attracts fairies into the house; however, it is different with holly wreaths, since if they are left up after twelfth Night, there will be a misfortune for every leaf that remains, within the year. On New Year’s Eve, all holly wreaths were burnt, or else broken up and sprigs given to different families.