Holly at Christmas, and beyond...?

     Have you ever noticed what appears to be holly high up in one of the stained glass windows of Our Lady of Mount Carmel?  It's set in what might seem to be a curious space:  in the fourteenth of our Stations of the Cross, wherein Jesus is laid in the tomb.  But why would anyone put holly there?  It's hardly a Christmas scene, and holly is a Christmas symbol... or is it?

     Historians tell us that hanging boughs of holly during the Christmas season is a tradition borrowed from Celtic and Druidic tribes, for whom the evergreen's capacity to remain colorful even in the darkest months of winter was sacred.  In the Christian tradition, however, this symbolism was expanded to encompass not only the season of Christmas, but also the Passion of Christ.  The German word for holly is Christdorn, or Christ-thorn; the holly's pointed leaves represent the Crown of Thorns placed on Jesus' head, while the red berries of the holly plant recall the drops of his blood shed on the Cross.  It would thus make sense for us to find a crown of holly leaves fallen to the ground in the tomb of Jesus, a reminder of his suffering yet ever-green, such that hope remains, even in the tomb.

     There is even a Christmas carol reminding us of this conjunction of symbols:  The Holly and the Ivy, which you can listen to by clicking on the video below:

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... 

Image source:  Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley
Video source
The History of Holly