http://blog.oup.com/2006/12/kissing_and_dyi/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Mon, 20 May 2013 14:53:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blog.oup.com/2006/12/kissing_and_dyi/#comment-3526 John Cowan Tue, 08 May 2007 18:29:12 +0000 http://216.110.190.15/2006/12/kissing_and_dying_under_the_mistletoe_with_the_holly_thrown_in_for_good_measure_or_that_time_of_year_thou_mayst_in_me_behold/#comment-3526 The long-held association of the holly with the ivy as evergreen plants brings up the Christmas carol of that name. The rhymes grown-crown, flower-Saviour, and blood-good (it's not clear to me if deer-choir was ever a rhyme) suggest a respectable antiquity, but how old? The long-held association of the holly with the ivy as evergreen plants brings up the Christmas carol of that name. The rhymes grown-crown, flower-Saviour, and blood-good (it’s not clear to me if deer-choir was ever a rhyme) suggest a respectable antiquity, but how old?

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