Happy golden days of yore. Burn fear and blame with fire and flame. Goddess rest ye merry pagans. The carol may, therefore, contain a gentle reference to the ups and downs of relationships between men and women. All paths are one on this holy night! The Melrose Quartet sang The Holly and the Ivy, as collected from Mrs Kilford, Lilleshall, Shropshire [ VWML CJS2/10/2725], on their 2019 Christmas album, The Rudolph Variations. Though the fire burned golden bright.
Ivor Hill and Family sang The Holly and the Ivy in a recording made by Mike Yates at Bromsberrow Heath, Gloucestershire. The holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown, Of all trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown: O, the rising of the sun, And the running of the deer. Whom you have seen before. Ah, Ah, How brightly shines the Sun.
The growing dark is ending now. So bring some right now. Holly and Ivy are often linked together at Christmas; this goes back much further, to the idea of the holly (male) and ivy (female) being burnt together at the pagan festival of Beltane. Join hands and circle around. Oh, just see that glorious fill!
Heedless of the wind and weather. I'm fascinated by the ancient origins of various holiday traditions, and occasionally go in search of their roots by way of a good, old fashioned Google search. Brightly shone the moon that night. And face unafraid the plans that we made. For ev'ry year thou lovely tree. The singing of robin redbreast. It's probably worth noting here that the first artificial-brush Christmas tree was produced using the same machinery that was originally designed to produce toilet brushes. The Sun God brilliant, the Sun God wild. This version was recorded fifty years ago from Peter Jones of Bromsash in Herefordshire, by Pat Shaw and Maud Karpeles, as part of the BBC's massive Folk Music Collection programme [ VWML MK/1/5/1]. We have got a little purse. Yuletide returns to the city. We remember all through our lives. All the children of the earth. Dance the circle round and round.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here. And we ply our cosmic art. Within the blessed Apple lies the Message of the Queen. Arrives the Sun Child's birth. Had a very hidden side. We all know that Christmas is a festival grafted onto a much older celebration. He led them down the streets of town. Glory to the newborn Sun. Then hitch him to an open sleigh.