The Holly and the Ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The Holly bears the crown.

 Holly: Ilex aquifolium

As an important symbol of Christmas, Holly is rooted in English folklore and superstition.
No distinction is made below between fact and fiction, but here are some Holly related trivia for you to mull over (with your mulled wine).

 First, some of it’s many other, local names.

Aunt Mary’s Tree          Berry Holly                    Berry Holm
Christmas Tree              Christ’s Thorn Tree       Crocodile Tree
Hollin                            Holm                             Hulver
Killin Tree                     Prick Bush                     Prickly Christmas

Next are some of the facts and customs to do with Holly that have been part of Northern Midwinter Festivals for thousands of years. Some survive to this day, having been modified when the early Christian’s adapted those festivals for themselves.

Holly trees are a conspicuous and ancient part of hedgerows. They tend to outlive changes in ownership or agricultural practice. This led to them being used as a boundary marker on old title deeds and maps. The Ordnance Survey consider the mature Holly as one of the best markers of old boundaries.

The name Holly became part of many place names in England, an example is the village of Hulver, west of Kessingland in Suffolk. Hollington in Derbyshire and Hollingworth in Cheshire.

Holly leaves contain so much wax that they burn fiercely even when green. (Try a small handful on your open fire – but don’t try too many!)

A Holly tree in a forest fire goes up like a firework but Holly trees in a cottage garden were believed to protect against lightning strikes – to act as a lightning conductor.

Holly is very slow growing, the trees in Colchester outside the Holly Trees Museum are well over 200 years old. This slow growth gives the wood it’s dense strong character.

Holly Wood is quite white in colour and was used to make chess or checkers pieces, bobbins for cotton in the Lancashire mills and for whip handles for ploughmen or driving whips for carriages and gigs. Holly had power over horses. Note that a hearse driver used an Elder whip for Elder had power over the dead!

Holly Wood is so very strong and hard, it used to be used to make sea walls. (Sweet Chestnut was another favourite  wood for this application.)

It seems unlikely but farmers often fed Holly leaves to sheep, cows and horses in the winter – and the animals ate it happily. A good source of winter forage when other food was scarce.

The red berries of Holly wreaths on the door of the house would keep away evil and bad luck. (From Christmas eve when the decorations went up, to Candlemas eve when they came down – unless you were troubled by the House Goblin – see below!)

A bunch of Holly hung in your house would keep the House Goblin away and bring good luck. It was kept hanging all year, until it was replaced next Christmas. (Try it yourself, for a whole 12 months neither the berries nor the leaves fall off, though they go a rather dowdy brown colour.)

Holly hung around the neck of a horse would stop it catching a cough.

Children who drunk milk from a Holly Wood cup would not catch Whooping Cough.

Never sweep the chimney with bunches of Holly, for being a ‘gentle tree’ liked by the fairies they will be annoyed and create mischief all year in your home.

Cut some branches off for Christmas by all means, but felling a whole tree will bring bad luck.

Put leaves from a female Holly with no prickles under your pillow, for divination by dreams. (Go to bed thinking about a question and the answer will be revealed in your dreams.) It should be said that this was more often used to divine problems of the heart rather than loftier aims.