Many people like to decorate their houses at Christmas with real plants such as holly, ivy and mistletoe.
Although there are songs and carols linking these plants with Christianity, they were originally used long before Christian times in the celebration of the winter solstice, a looking forward to the new growth of Spring.
Holly was male and ivy female.
They were believed to keep evil spirits away.
Rather than stop people using this greenery new meanings were given.
Holly was said to represent the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, whilst the berries represented his blood.
Ivy needs support to live, something to cling to, just as Christians cling to Jesus.
Mistletoe is a parasite that needs a host to survive.
The Druids had a ceremony of cutting the mistletoe from the sacred oak (one of many hosts).
They believed it had mystic powers and could defend against evil.
As it is green all year round it was also regarded as a symbol of fertility.
The modern idea of kissing under the mistletoe probably comes from Norse mythology but was made popular in the UK in Victorian times.