Christmas is commonly referred to as “the most wonderful time of the year” – and not just because of the song lyrics. It is, after all, one of the oldest and most widely celebrated holidays.

But it wasn’t always that way.

Especially here in the United States, it’s hard to imagine that as prevalent as the decorations and sales and spirit of the season seem to be, that at one time it was a quiet family affair, not all that popular, and sometimes even illegal!

It makes sense that with more than 2000 years of history Christmas and its trappings would go through some changes, resets, and transformations. As we pointed out last week, the early Christians didn’t even celebrate Christmas and Advent looked towards the return of Jesus, not remembering his birth.

With so many elements over so many years, it’s impossible not to mix regional or family traditions, local customs and practices together. But it doesn’t take away from the central meaning of the holiday, regardless of where the ideas come from.

Take, for example, the story of Holly.

Yuletide and Folklore Redefined

Holly is one of the oldest plants we know of and the longest growing and surviving. In fact, there are holly trees in Castile and Leon, Spain that are reputed to be more than 600 years old. American Holly grows for 200 years and “regular” European Holly for 300 or so years.

There are more than 200 cultivated varieties of Ilex aquifolium in the world. For centuries, people planted holly outside their homes and around their gates hoping for protection. Smaller woodland creatures also found safe haven in their greenery when other trees were shedding their leaves.

The green leaves and red berries make it an obvious choice for Christmas décor. The early Celts and Romans, led by the Druids, would bring the holly leaves indoor, believing the evergreen nature of the leaves was proof of the return of spring.

These people also believed that the long life of the trees meant they could remember the past and see the future – sharing it in their dreams.

Yule Be Home For Christmas

While the early Christians often shunned such superstitions, they found their own symbolism in the plants’ prickly edges (Christ’s crown of thorns), their red berries (his blood, as his skin was pierced), and their green leaves (Christ’s victory of life over death).

And thanks to Martin Luther, pine trees are also now part of the practice and symbolism of Christmas, although Americans didn’t catch on until Prince Albert married Queen Victoria and brought a Christmas tree into Buckingham Palace for family photos.

The term Yule, once the Germanic people’s name for their winter celebration, has become part of our Christmas lexicon, almost as much as jingle bells and decking the halls with boughs of holly.

A Season of Celebrations

Just a reminder that, in addition to the joy of the Christ child’s birth, our Jewish friends will be marking the 8 days of Chanukah starting at sundown on Thursday, and the festival of Kwanzaa kicks off on the day after Christmas.

The Good News Pest Solutions offices will be closing early today for Christmas Eve and will be closed all day for Christmas. We wish you peace and joy and all of the blessings of the holiday. We will have regular office hours again on Thursday and Friday. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, or just want to wish us or your favorite technician a Merry Christmas, please give us a call!