"Mountain greenery

Oh, what scenery!"

If you recognize these lyrics, you, too may be a fan of The Dick van Dyke Show. This is less of a story, than a collection of greenery that inspires me at Christmas. (And by the way, it's sung in season 1, episode 27, "The Sleeping Brother.)

This post is inspired by John Rutter, one of my favorites composers. On his Facebook at Christmas, he asked people to identify their favorite Christmas songs and to explain why they loved them. Having been so immersed repetitively in so many songs from October through December, my thoughts went to a 9-versed song I had not heard thus far during this season. The poem pairs stories about greenery with the description of the birth of Christ.

The holly and the ivy

When they are both full grown

Of all trees that are in the wood

The holly bears the crown

Back when I sang in the Richmond Symphony Chorus, for the annual "Let it Snow" concert, we performed a version of this song arranged by the late James Erb, our director (and a professor at the University of Richmond). He is far better known for his arrangement of Shenandoah; I'm not even sure whether he ever had The Holly and the Ivy professionally published. 

Greenery such as holly and ivy feature prominently in the wreaths of Colonial Williamsburg. I was terribly impressed by these in the late 1980s and created them for my interior design clients. Here is a link to a set of photos of the ones displayed in 2015: Nothing but wreaths.

If you have children or grandchildren, I'd also like to point out The Story of Holly and Ivy, by Rumer Godden; my signed copy from a Richmond Children's bookstore was illustrated by Barbara Cooney.

And in case you could do with a little bit more greenery, in future days we'll talk a little bit more about Christmas trees.

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all