History of the Christmas wreath
History of the Christmas wreath
If you remember your
favorite American or European New Year's movie, what element of Christmas
paraphernalia immediately comes to mind? That's right - the image of the front
door to a house or apartment, which is decorated with an elegant Christmas
wreath! The tradition of hanging a wreath of needles on the door for the New
Year and Christmas came to us quite recently, but in Western Europe, where it
comes from, this custom has a long and rich history.
Christmas decor,
along with a wreath and a Christmas tree, entered the European tradition of
celebrating Christmas around the 16th century. There is no official version of
where and under what circumstances the wreath appeared for the first time,
however, there are many legends associated with this and explanations why the
wreath has become one of the main symbols of Christmas.
One of the legends of
the Catholic Church says that the monk Boniface from England built the
Christmas tree in such a way that it had three peaks, as a symbol of the
trinity of God's beginning - God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As a result, many unnecessary fir branches remained, which, in order not to be
thrown away, were used to weave wreaths.
The shape of the
circle in general and wreaths in particular have always been present in the
symbolism of different peoples. Among the ancient Greeks, the wreath was
identified with victory and glory. In Persia, the wreath was a symbol of power.
In Slavic culture, it was customary to weave wreaths of ears of wheat as a sign
of a good harvest. In the German tradition, it has long been a custom to
decorate the dining table with a wreath in order to maintain home comfort and
prosperity. The Swedes made wreaths with candles for the winter solstice (by
the way, Catholics have a tradition to put a wreath with four candles in the
house, which symbolize Advent and count the weeks until Christmas).
All these customs intertwined
with each other and harmoniously resulted in a beautiful tradition of
decorating the house with an elegant wreath.
Symbolism of the Christmas wreath
Like any other
attribute of the celebration of Christmas, the wreath is endowed with special
symbolism. Everything in it matters.
First of all, you
need to pay attention to its shape. The circle in a variety of religions and
teachings symbolizes cyclicality and infinity. In the Christian faith, the
round shape of the wreath explains the constant presence of God, the
cyclicality and sequence of everything in the world (change of seasons, life
and death, etc.), the infinity of love for God.
The use of evergreens
as the main material is also not accidental. Green color means life,
development, growth of spirituality and purity of the soul.
To create Christmas
wreaths, different evergreens are used, each of which has its own symbolism:
pine and spruce carry the meaning of eternal life, holly is associated with
Jesus Christ and symbolizes the crown of thorns, cedar means health and
healing.
Traditionally, the
following materials are used to decorate a coniferous wreath:
• Cones - the birth of a new life, prosperity and longevity.
• Lavender - health.
• Hawthorn berries - joy.
• Juniper - hope.
Why is it customary to hang a wreath on the door?
As we have already
found out, a lot of symbolism is hidden in a Christmas wreath, therefore, by
hanging it on the front door, we protect our home from everything bad, welcome
welcome guests and attract prosperity, happiness, and health to the house.
The wreath can also be hung on
the windows, the gate, the inside of the front door, on the wall in the room,
and also placed on the festive table.
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