Holly, Yew and Box 



and is now preserved in the Harleian MS. No. 



" Nay, Ivy, nay, it shall not be, I wys ; 

 Let Holy hafe the maystry, as the manner ys. 

 Holy stond in the Halle, fayre to behold ; 

 Ivy stond without the dore ; she ys full sore cold. 



Holy and hys mery men they dawnsyn and they syng, 

 Ivy and hur maydenys they wepyn and they wryng. 

 Ivy hath a lybe, she laghtit with the cold, 

 So wot they all hafe that wyth Ivy hold. 



Holy hath berys as red as any Rose, 



They foster the hunters, kepe him from the doo. 



Ivy hath berys as black as any slo ; 



There com the oule and ete hym as she goo. 



Holy hath byrdys, aful fayre flok, 



The Nyghtyngale, the Poppyngy, the gayntul Lavyrok. 



Good Ivy ! what byrdys art thou ! 



Non but the Howlet that ' How ! How ! ' " 



In some parts of the country, people are very 

 particular to put Holly up for Christmas decora- 

 tions on a certain day and take it down on a 

 certain day. In other places it is considered to 

 be very unlucky to take Holly into a house 

 before Christmas Eve, and in other districts 

 it is said to be decidedly unfortunate for an 

 invalid if anyone takes a branch of Holly into a 

 sick room, the patient being almost sure to have 

 a serious relapse or possibly die. This supersti- 

 tion, I am informed, still prevails in some parts of 

 Middlesex. 



48 



