The Holly Tree, Harry Potter, and Christianity

So I always thought that the holly berry tree was a tree that just had no use except for its prickly leaves and poisonous berries, but come to find out this is what I just found on the internet.

Christians have identified a wealth of symbolism in its form. The sharpness of the leaves help to recall the crown of thorns worn by Jesus; the red berries serve as a reminder of the drops of blood that were shed for salvation; and the shape of the leaves, which resemble flames, can serve to reveal God's burning love for His people. Combined with the fact that holly maintains its bright colors during the Christmas season, it naturally came to be associated with the Christian holiday.

Holly – more specifically the European holly, Ilex aquifolium – is commonly referenced at Christmas time, and is often referred to by the name Christ's thorn. In many Western Christian cultures, holly is a traditional Christmas decoratiol used especially in wreaths and illustrations, for instance on Christmas cards.

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.

Since medieval times the plant has carried a Christian symbolism, as expressed in the well-known Christian Christmas carol "The Holly and the Ivy", in which the holly represents Jesus and the ivy represents the Virgin Mary. Angie Mostellar discusses the Christian use of holly at Christmas, stating that,
"Christians have identified a wealth of symbolism in its form. The sharpness of the leaves help to recall the crown of thorns worn by Jesus; the red berries serve as a reminder of the drops of blood that were shed for salvation; and the shape of the leaves, which resemble flames, can serve to reveal God's burning love for His people. Combined with the fact that holly maintains its bright colors during the Christmas season, it naturally came to be associated with the Christian holiday."

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.

In some Traditions of Wicca, the Holly King is one of the faces of the Sun God. He is born at Midsummer and rules from Mabon to Ostara.

I thought this was pretty cool, so i thought id share. :-)