Steve Webb  0:01  
Hello, this is day 10 of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring Why Christmas show hosted by James Cooper, creator of whychristmas.com. And me the OG Godcaster Steve Webb. Remember, we're giving away an autographed copy of Bryan Duncan's NehoSoul Christmas CD. So be sure to go to Lifespring media.com/day Nine to see the question and how to enter the drawing. That's Lifespring media.com/day9. That's d-a-y  numeral nine, no space. Every day from now to Christmas day, you'll hear an episode from the 2009 season. And if you're not yet subscribed, or following the show, you can do that at LifespringWhyChristmas.show. And one more thing, if you're enjoying the show, and you'd like to give some value back, you can do that at Lifespringmedia.com/support. And if you've got one of those new modern podcast apps, you can stream support as you listen and you can boost the show. Take a look at your podcast app right now. Do you see a boost button? Then you're all set. If you don't see one then get a better podcast app at newpodcastapps.com. If you have any questions about that, email me at Steve@Lifespringmedia.com All right, here's the show Enjoy.

Steve Webb  1:33  
Hello, it's day 10 of the Lifespring Why Christmas show. If you've gotten your answers into the Christmas trivia questions from show number nine. Remember one lucky listener who sends in the correct answers will win a signed copy of Bryan Duncan's NehoSoul Christmas CD. Be sure to listen to show nine if you missed it. Oh, I guess I should tell you that I'm Steve Webb. Today I'm going to tell you about the Holly and the Ivy and its significance to Christmas, Holly, Ivy and other greeneries such as mistletoe, which of course we already talked about, were originally used in pre Christian times to help celebrate the winter solstice festival and to ward off evil spirits and celebrate new growth. When Christianity came to Western Europe, some people wanted to keep the greenery and give it Christian meanings, and to ban the use of it to decorate homes. The UK and Germany were the main countries to keep the use of the greenery, and here are some of the Christian meanings. For Holly, the prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns. In Scandinavia, Holly is known as the Christ Thorn. In pagan times, Holly was thought to be a male plant and ivy, female plant. An old tradition from the Midlands of England says that whatever one brought into the house first over winter tells you whether the man or the woman of the house would rule that year. But it was unlucky to bring either into a house before Christmas Eve. And ivy, of course has to cling to something to support itself as it grows. This reminds us that we need to cling to God for support in our lives. In Germany, it's traditional that ivy is only used outside, and a piece tied to the outside of a church was supposed to protect it from lightning. So there you have it. Of course there are many other green plants that are associated with Christmas, and might I suggest that you head on over to whychristmas.com to do some foraging for yourself. For James Cooper, who will tell you a bit of christmas card origins tomorrow. I'm Steve Webb. Thank you for being a part of the Lifespring Why Christmas Show.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai