Holly is an iconic Christmas image and in pagan times it was used to decorate the house. As an evergreen it signified that life carried on even in winter. Christians came to associate it with the crown of thorns that Jesus wore on the crucifix, the bright red berries representing beads of blood. The spiky Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is just one member of a large group of about 600 species of plants found across the world.
