A “Christmas tree”    Large branches of holly were used to decorate homes at Christmas until Prince Albert introduced the fir Christmas tree to Britain in 1840.   During pagan times the Druids had regarded holly as sacred and a symbol of fertility and eternal life.  Celts and Romans too thought holly had magical powers and would hang some in their house to protect their homes from evil spirits which would get trapped in the spiky leaves.  In the Middle Ages holly trees were often planted along boundary hedges as it was believed that it would prevent witches from flying along the tops of hedges.  With the advent of Christianity some of the pagan symbols were incorporated into new customs and beliefs.  Cattle pens would sometimes be decorated with some holly on Christmas Day since they believed the cows would produce more milk in the coming year.  The evergreen holly became a metaphor for everlasting life and the prickly holly leaves came to symbolise the crown of thorns with the berries representing the drops of blood on Christ’s head.   Now it is a cheerful colourful sight during winter days until the birds devour the berries and so far this holly tree is one of the few with most of its berries left.