Take Refuge in the Holly

by M Ryan Taylor
Copyright © 2008 M Ryan Taylor

Take refuge in the Holly,
and sing out loud and jolly,
for Christmas comes but once a year
and proves the winter’s folly.

Green amid the winter snows,
facing whirlwind blows,
lonely Holly, bright and warm,
shelters from the storm.
Refuge of the weak and small,
evergreen and tall,
steadfast Holly is the gate
shielding them from hate.

Take refuge in the Holly,
and sing out loud and jolly,
for Christmas comes but once a year
and proves the winter’s folly.

Barrier to the lightning brute,
shining resolute;
needle leafed He turns the foes,
bearing wounds and blows;
Stainless flowers turn berry blood,
countering the flood;
Yuletide food to last the year,
banishing our fear.

Take refuge in the Holly,
and sing out loud and jolly,
for Christmas comes but once a year
and proves the winter’s folly.

Feed Thy sheep on green and red,
scholared by Thy bread.
Holy Holly, crown of thorn,
Author of our morn,
Kindler of a brighter light,
fire the truthful fight;
Purge, refine, and forge our steel,
turned toward Thy will.

Take refuge in the Holly,
and sing out loud and jolly,
for Christmas comes but once a year
and proves the winter’s folly.

Notes:

• This new carol borrows some imagery from old carols about the holly, but also incorporates many symbols that have been overlooked in relation to this beautiful and useful plant.
• Refrain: the holly tree (known in Victorian times as the "Christmas Tree" - before fir trees took over the appelation) is a primary source of food, as well as refuge from predators, for small animals (especially birds) in the winter. I have openly borrowed the Shakespearean rhyme of holly with jolly; I wanted to refer back to that feeling of antiquity.
• Verse 1: expounds on the message of refuge. The use of "gate" is more than a convenience of rhyme; holly has long been used for hedges as well as a superstitious ward against evil spirits and witches.
• Verse 2: Holly has long been used as a ward against lightning. planted next to buildings to protect them from strikes. Science has caught up with folklore to find that this actually works because of the unique spiney structure of the holly leaves. However, mundane lightning becomes a reference to "Satan [who] as lightning [fell] from heaven." Also, "needle leafed" is the actual meaning of one of the holly tree’s names. "Stainless flowers" is a reference to holly’s white flowers but also the stainless life of Christ which enabled Him to be our Redeemer. "Countering the flood" also has a double meaning: the flood of the attack of the lightening’s forces, but also the flood of Noah, a symbol of humanity’s fall, wickedness and mortality. Blood-red berries become a symbol of the Yuletide food, the sacrament of the last supper, which in turn banishes our fear of death and hell so that we can go forward in faith.
• Verse 3: Last supper imagery continues here: the new-growth-branches of the holly tree have been an important source of fodder for sheep and cattle throughout the winter months in times past: in essence, the leaves are the sheep’s bread when there is nothing else to eat. The "green and red" therefore are the body and blood, the bread and the wine. Holly is also referenced as the "crown of thorn" by early British Christians - an additional symbol of the sacrifice of Christ. "Author of our morn" makes reference to Christ being "the author and finisher of our faith" and the fact that holly branches were burned when taken down from being used as decorations and therefore became a source of light. Holly is also the heraldric symbol of truth. Holly is valuable as a source for making charcoal, which in turn is used to refine steel; it was prophesied that Christ would be a "refiner’s fire" to purge us of our dross, our weaknesses, and turn us into powerful tools for good. Using the word "turned" is not accidental, as the holly was also valued in past times as a hardwood used for spinning wheel axels and tool handles.