HOLLY
Holly is the traditional plant of this season of the year: green is the colour of its leaves; red is the colour of its berries.
Holly was the sacred plant of the Roman god Saturn and was used at the Roman Saturnalia festival in his honour. This festivity is at the origin of the date of December 25 for the Christmas celebration. During the festival, Romans gave one another holly wreaths and carried them about decorating images of Saturn with it. In order to avoid Roman persecution, the early Christians took later the traditional use of holly and decked their homes with its branches. The plant therefore lost its pagan meaning and became a symbol of Christianity.
© Dulce Rodrigues