Understanding The Christmas Wreath

Understanding The Christmas Wreath

The History and Symbolism of the Christmas Wreath

Have you ever given thought to all the items that you decorate with during the Christmas season? If you are like most people, you probably have not. After all, we decorate to celebrate the season yet we don’t really think much more about why we may use certain items. Yes, we may know that we bring down that special glass bowl to sit on the table that belonged to a grandparent during the Christmas season. However, what about the reasoning behind why we put a tree up? Why do we always want to reach for a star or angle on the tree? And why do we hang a wreath on the door of our home?

These are interesting questions. The main reason that we use all of these items during the Christmas season is because they somehow have a connection to Christmas in one way or the other. For those who are interested in why we use a wreath on our door, you may find that this is a custom that reaches back further than you thought. And who knows, it may inspire you to use a wreath this year in your decor!

The tradition of bringing evergreens domestic for the duration of the iciness started in the sixteenth century among northern  Europeans — with Germans in many instances, credited with beginning the Christmas tree tradition. During this period, pruning the tree used to be a phase of the coaching process. Instead of throwing the portions of greenery away, the Europeans wove the extra into wreaths.

Meaning Behind the Colors and Decorations

Such Artificial Christmas wreaths at the beginning served as Christmas tree ornaments, and no longer as the standalone decorations we’re acquainted with today. They had been fashioned into a wheel-like structure in part for convenience’s sake — it used to be easy to hold a circle onto the branches of a tree — however the form used to be additionally substantial as an illustration of divine perfection. It symbolized eternity, as the structure has no end.

Together, the round form and the evergreen fabric make the wreath an illustration of everlasting life. It is additionally an illustration of faith, as Christians in Europe regularly positioned a candle on the wreath at some stage in Advent to signify the mild that Jesus added into the world. A German Lutheran pastor named Johann Hinrich Wichern is regularly given savings for turning the wreath into an image of the Advent, and lighting fixtures candles of quite a number sizes and coloration in a circle as Christmas approaches. Despite its big reputation today, the wreath began with humble beginnings, and reinforced the concept that all matters have to be used instead than thrown away! If you really think about it, the wreath can teach us a lot about life and show respect since it was first a design of unused parts — but thanks to being frugal, people found a beautiful way to use every aspect of the tree. How many people could apply this to other aspects of life?