As the hawthorn is consecrated to vernal festivities, the Holly is
sacred to those of winter, and the yew to those attending the burial of
the dead. In Europe, from the earliest ages, the Holly has been employed
for the decoration of churches during Christmas. The poets have made it
a symbol of forethought, because its leaves are saved from the browsing
of animals by the thorns that surround them; and the berries, concealed
by its prickly foliage, are preserved for the use of the winter birds.
The Holly is found only in the southern parts of New England. In
Connecticut it is common, and in the Middle and Southern States it is a
tree of third magnitude. The leaves of the Holly are slightly sinuate or
scalloped, and furnished at each point with short spines. It not only
retains its foliage in the winter, but it loses none of that brilliancy
of verdure that distinguishes it at other seasons.
There seems to be no very notable difference between the American and
European Holly. Selby says of the latter: “The size which the Holly
frequently attains in a state of nature, as well as when under
cultivation, its beauty and importance in forest and woodland scenery,
either as a secondary tree or merely as an underwood shrub, justify our
placing it among the British forest trees of the second rank.” He adds:
“As an ornamental evergreen, whether in the form of a tree or as an
undergrowth, the Holly is one of the most beautiful we possess. The deep
green glittering foliage contrasts admirably with the rich coral hue of
its berries.”