The Holly and the Ivy

"The Holly and the Ivy" is a traditional Christmas carol, which is among the most lightly Christianized carols of the Yuletide—the holly and the ivy being among the most familiar Druidic plants Fact|date=November 2007. "Holly and ivy have been the mainstay of Christmas decoration for church use since at least the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when they are mentioned regularly in churchwardens’ accounts" (Roud 2004).

Sir Henry Walford Davies wrote a popular choral arrangement that is often performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and by choirs around the world.

Lyrics

: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

:Refrain::Oh, the rising of the sun and the running of the deer:The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir

:The holly bears a blossom as white as lily flower:And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to be our sweet savior

:Refrain

:The holly bears a berry as red as any blood:And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good

:Refrain

:The holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn:And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ on Christmas Day in the morn

:Refrain

:The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall:And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ for to redeem us all

:Refrain

Origin

The music and most of the text was collected by Cecil Sharp from a woman in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. This carol is probably related to an older carol: "The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly", a contest between the traditional emblems of woman and man respectively.

:Holly stands in the hall, fair to behold::Ivy stands without the door, she is full sore a cold.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Holly and his merry men, they dance and they sing,:Ivy and her maidens, they weep and they wring.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Ivy hath chapped fingers, she caught them from the cold,:So might they all have, aye, that with ivy hold.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Holly hath berries red as any rose,:The forester, the hunter, keep them from the does.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Ivy hath berries black as any sloe;:There come the owl and eat him as she go.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Holly hath birds a fair full flock,:The nightingale, the popinjay, the gentle laverock.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

:Good ivy, what birds hast thou?:None but the owlet that cries how, how.:"Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;":"Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is."

Other

"The Holly and the Ivy" is also the title of a stage play by British playwright Wynyard Browne, and its 1952 film adaptation starring Ralph Richardson.

References

*cite book|author=Steve Roud|year=2004|title=A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles|publisher=Penguin|id=ISBN 0-14-051549-6
*cite book|author=Brendan Lehane and the Editors of Time-Life Books|year=1986|title=The Book of Christmas (The Enchanted World)|publisher=Time-Life Books Inc.|id=ISBN 0-8094-5261-8

External links

* Free [http://cantorion.org/music/17/The+Holly+and+the+Ivy sheet music] for piano from "Cantorion.org"
* [http://www.hymnswithoutwords.com/hymns/The_holly_and_the_ivy Hymns Without Words] free recording for download suitable for services
* [http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000062980,00.html?sym=MIS Steve Roud on superstitions]
* [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/contest_of_the_ivy_and_the_h.htm?sym="Notes on 'The Contest of the Holy and the Ivy'"]
* [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/holly_and_the_ivy.htm Hymns and Carols of Christmas]