But descriptions of Christmas festivities well into the 17th century focus on the decoration of the person rather than the house. Wax candles were another form of conspicuous consumption, as well as a nod to religious significance. Aristocratic households preferred to display their wealth by bringing out their best tapestries, jewels and gold platters. Greenery was cheap and perhaps for that reason is not mentioned in descriptions of domestic decorations from medieval Europe.
King Henry VIII composed one which begins: “Green groweth the holly, So doth the ivy, Though winter blasts blow never so high, Green groweth the holly.” (I have modernised the spelling, but it was never very catchy.) Mistletoe had long been revered by druids, while holly and ivy were celebrated in English songs at least from the 15th century. The leaves that are available – holly, ivy and mistletoe – became obvious choices for decorations. In countries like the UK, midwinter greenery is limited. So the construction of green boughs and natural adornments was instead focused on churches – using plants that have retained their festive significance to this day. Gregory recommended that these celebrations should be reinvented rather than banned. The Venerable Bede, an English monk, records that English pagans had celebrated the start of their year at the winter solstice and called it “the night of the mothers”. The 6th-century Pope Gregory the Great took a different line.
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