Christmas Holly Leaf Dish » The Memory Box Project

Description:

A Christmas dish shaped like a holly leaf with 3 red berries. The dish is made of painted ceramic with four feet to raise the dish up. This may have been used just for decorative purposes or to hold candy canes and other Christmas treats.

Holly is significant at Christmas as it is said to represent Jesus wearing a crown of thorns when he died on the cross. It is thought that using holly to decorate the house brings good luck along with ivy and mistletoe. Superstition says it is bad luck to decorate the house with them before Christmas Eve.
Candy canes have been popular at Christmas for over 350 years. Originally, they would have been just unflavoured straight sticks. It is believed that in1670 a choirmaster in Germany bent the stick to look like a shepherd’s hook. Children that attended the ceremonies in Cologne Cathedral were given them to keep them quiet during the services. Today there are many flavours but peppermint still remains the most popular red and white candy cane flavour.

Key theme(s):

CelebrationsChristmas

More information:

Date	1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s
Material(s)	Ceramic
Item number	MBPO270

Questions to help you remember using this item

What decorations do you put up at Christmas?
Have you ever kissed under the mistletoe?

User Stories

I used to put holly that I picked locally around picture frames in the house at Christmas. This stopped when I had children & then a dog. Think I was too frightened that someone or something would put the berries in their mouth! Depending on the weather during the year sometimes it is hard to find holly with red berries near to Christmas. – Helen