Christmas Holly

 American Holly Tree 

Ilex (/ˈaɪlɛks/), or holly,^[2] is a genus of over 560 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family.^[3] Ilex has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus.^[4] The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The type species is Ilex aquifolium, the common European holly used in Christmas decorations and cards.

What is special about a holly tree?

The Druids regarded holly as a symbol of fertility and eternal life, thought to have magical powers.In heraldry, holly is used to symbolize truth. The Norwegian municipality of Stord has a yellow twig of holly in its Coat-of-arms.

The Druids held that "leaves of holly offered protection against evil spirits" and thus "wore holly in their hair".

In the Harry Potter novels, holly is used as the wood in Harry's wand.

 Today, Christians have adopted the holly tree as a symbol for Christmas. The sharp leaves are said to symbolize the crown of thorns worn by Christ, while the berries represent his blood.