Long ago there were two brothers. The younger brother wore oak leaves as his crown and was known as the Oak King. His older brother wore holly leaves as his crown and was known as the Holly King.
Like many brothers the two became rivals and each felt that they knew the best way to rule the land. They quarreled over it all the time. The Oak King wanted the land to be bright and hot and sunny for the entire year so that the younger brother could be active during the day. The Holly King, however, wanted the land to be dark and cold so that he could easily sleep all year long.
What made matters worse was that both Kings loved a beautiful Lady, and she loved them both as well. Watch them continually bicker and fight made her feel uncomfortable. She offered a wise compromise and told them to share the land between them, one half of the year for the Oak King, one half of the year for the Holly King. The boys, of course, could not be so sensible.
The brothers couldn’t be persuaded to stop their fighting. One hot day, when the sun was high in the sky, and it seemed night would never come, the Holly King drew his sword against his younger brother and they fought. Although the Oak King fought bravely, the Holly King struck a mortal blow, and the Oak King fell.
“My brother!” cried the Holly King, holding the bleeding body of the Oak King in his arms. The Lady bundled up the body of the Oak King and told the Holly King that he must rule the land. She took the Oak King away and each day, the hours the sun shone grew shorter. Each night, the moon rode in the sky for a bit longer. The days grew shorter, and cooler, the nights, longer and colder. Snow started flying. The Holly King could think of nothing but his brother.
Finally, the land was bare and dead and all plants slept. Many animals slept through the cold times, and those that didn’t sleep had a hard time finding food and shelter. One night, when it seemed like the sun would never rise again, the Lady came to the Holly King and said, “Don’t despair, your brother isn’t dead. Here he is to take his turn at ruling.” And there stood the Oak King, young and healthy again. The Holly King happily stepped aside for his brother to take his place as King of the land. The days grew longer, and warmer, the moon rode in the sky for less and less time. The land grew green again, and the plants and animals awoke.
Each year the cycle continued, one brother ruling the green time, and one the dark time. This the explanation that the ancients told to explain the seasons.