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Several centuries after the birth of Christ, Christians began celebrating the birth of Christ in December while the Romans were still holding their pagan celebrations. By decorating their homes with holly as the Romans did, Christians avoided detection and persecution. The early Christian Church associated holly with various legends about its role in Christ s crucifixion. According to one legend, Christ s crown of thorns was formed from holly. The legend claimed that the holly berries were originally white, but were stained red by Christ s blood. So for ancient Christians, the sharply pointed holly leaves became symbols of the thorns in Christ s crown and the red berries drops of his blood. ....