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Show I.o, now Is come our Joyfull'nt time, i-t every man lip Jolly i Much room Willi Ivy leave In drrtt. Am) every pot with Holly. Without the door let Honour lie, And If for rold lie Imp to die. We'll bury htm In n ChrlMnins Pre, And evermore te merry. mTmm Ik of tho evergreen plants rL I hnvo long been consld-XjL consld-XjL I orcd symbolic of I minor- l ,,,! tnllty, or rebirth. Hcnco rqtKtTjI they, nnd thoy alone, nro Ci22Lyj appropriate decorations 1 tor the Christmas season, which was originally a celobratlon, under un-der the dlBgulso ot various national religious re-ligious rormB, or tho turning of tho sun nt tho winter solstice, and tho consequent con-sequent renownl of llfo on tho enrth. When Constantino wns converted, ho seized upon every underlying likeness, like-ness, however remoto, between the old faith and the now. Every fnmlllnr symbol that might bo stretched to fit tho strnngo faith; every old custom thnt would help to reconcllo hla lately, and sometimes forcibly, converted peoplo to tholr unaccustomed bellet, was adopted and re-cxplnlncd. And the return ot tho sun, bringing llfo nnd light to tho winter-bound earth, beramo tho prototype of tho coming of tho Son of Man, bringing llfo nnd light to tho soul of tho sin-bound world. So thnt at first all tho heathen observances woro retnlned as far as possible, and merely given a now meaning. At tho Christmas festival, the ivy and holly still mndo a summer screen ot tho stono wnlls, as In ancient Germany Ger-many they had turned the huge halls at mid-winter, to bowers or grconory, wherein tho sylvan sprites, who dwelt In summer among tho forest trees, might pass tho frozen months without too much discomfort. An echo trom Scandinavia Is atlll heard In tho saying say-ing current among tho peasants ot tho old world that If any bit ot holiday decoration Is left In tho house after Candlomns day (February 2), n troop of llttlo dovlls wll enter nnd alt, one on ench withered leaf, every ono bringing Its own small curso upon tho house Thcso llttlo dovlls aro merely tho old forcBt sprites, detained against their will by their undestroyed winter rcfugo nnd frottlng to roturn to the awakening woods of spring. Tho churches wero still green with Christmas garlands In those early days, and nblazo with candles, ns tho temples of Saturn had always been during tho corresponding Koman festival fes-tival ot tho Saturnalia. Hut, as Poly-dore Poly-dore Vergil remarks. "Trymmyng tho (omplea with hangyngs, flourcs, boughes and garlandea, wns taken ot the heathen peoplo, which decked their idols and houses in audio nrray." And na time went on, and It beenmo no moro uecessnry to mako concessions conces-sions thnt would help reconcllo tho peoplo to their changed fulth, these "heathen" customs became distasteful distaste-ful to the church. Ono ot tho early councils forbids men longer "to deck up Uiclr'tiouses wlth'lawrell, yvlerind greeno boughes, as wo used to doo at tho Chrtstmasso season." This command was observed In the temples, but In tho bnronlal halls tho old customs lived on; lived down their questionable past; won again tho toleration tol-eration ot tho priests who' had Btcrnly banished them, nnd to-day all tho over greens again nro admitted to tho strictest Church, so that we again enn say at Christmas, "KuW wnrinsrrKTit' ilulIyTtTieTemp'Tcs trnw With Ivy irrcen, and sncrcd Mistletoe." Tho "Karly Calendar of Kngllsh Flowers," an Old poem wherein each month Is recognized ;by Its appropriate plant symbol, ends with these linos: tiuon the overicreeno Laurol alone li icroene, "When CuUiarlne crowns all learned tiienne. Tlie Ivte and Hollle berries are seen. And Tula log And Wussalle come round Keen, The laurel is used not at Jill, and the Ivy but little, In American decorations nt Christmas, slnco both plants are exceedingly rnre hero. Hut In England the U3o of the Ivy ot least Is universal, nnd tho references to It In Christmas song nnd story alone would fill a small volume. Ilesldes Its claim to appropriateness appropriate-ness for tho Christmas season which It holds In common with other over-greens, over-greens, It has two especially strong recommendations of Its own. On account ac-count ot Its habit or clinging strongly to Its supporting treo or wall, It Is a popular symbol or friendship and fidelity, nnd as such, an excellent deco-jntlon deco-jntlon for tho season of good will and universal brotherhood. And it was, In Itnmnn dnys, sacred to Ilncchus, who, when a baby, was hidden by his mint, Ino, among Its IcavcB, to savo him from Juno's destructive wrath. Prynno says: At Christmas men do always Ivy net, And In each corner of the house It set; Hut why do tliey then use that Ilncchus weed? Vecnuse they mean then Macchus-llke to feed. This satirical explanation was but too truo in tho earlier days, when Christmas lasted for weeks, and was given over to a revelry almost wholly heathen In character. To-day, m America, tho Christmas decorations almost exclusively aro of holly, which, for all Its popularity, Is less consccrnted by legend than any other holiday greenery. To bo suro wo mako a sparing uso ot tho mistletoe, mistle-toe, which, from the ancient Druldlcal meaning of purity given to Its wax-white wax-white berries, and from Its uso by them In tho marriage rite, has como to give n charter tor kissing as "broad as tho wind." And wo havo added tho bitter-sweet, which has no traditional Blgnillcntlon whatever. Is not nn evergreen, and is to bo tolerated merely for Its beauty's sake, and for tho slight suggestion It gives ot tho holly borry. Our American holly Is said to bo less beautiful than tho European plant, having leaves ot a duller green. But, mnklng all allowances tor possible pos-sible disadvantages, It still is n remarkably re-markably beautiful tree. And ns a symbol of tho Immortality which It Is the season's special mission to tench, It surely has no rival. Tho leaves remain re-main on the branches for threo years, losing their hold only when they aro - pushed off at last by the growing buds of spring. Throughout England, so llttlo Is Its supremacy disputed, that It Is, popularly popular-ly known ns "Christmas," Just as tho Itawthorn Is called "The May." ' Its name has been a matter of considerable con-siderable Interest. Theophrastus and othor Greek authors named tho plant Agrla; that Is, wild, or of tho fields. Tho Romans formed rrom this tho word Agrltollum and called it also Anulfollum, rrom actum, sharp, and folium, n leaf. Dauhln and Loureiro first named it Ilex, from tho rcsemb-1nnco rcsemb-1nnco ot Its leaves to those ot the Quercus Hex, a species or oak which was the true Ilex ot Virgil. Linnaeus adopted the nnmo Ilox for tho genus, and preserved the namo Aqulfollum Tor tho' most nnclently known species. Our popular name, holly, probably is a corruption ot the word holy, as Turtior In his herbal calls It holy, and holy tree The thorny foliage, and the berries like drops ot bright blood, could scarcely fall to remind n Christian Chris-tian of tho crown of thornB. nnd this, TolfeCtTfer'wnTriho universal use otlhe plant in tho churches at Christinas easily would account for tho namo. In Gonrruny It Is known ns Christ-dorn. Christ-dorn. The Danish name la Chrlstorn and the Swedish Chrlsttorn. The same name, Christ's thorn, s found In some parts of England. Hut as no legend connects tho holly with the crown ot thorns, this name, universal among the Germanic peoples, must be merely tho result ot Its appearance, and of Its Christmas popularity, a before suggested. KM |