What is the Story of Christmas Wreaths?
The origin of the Christmas wreaths tradition
Christmas wreaths can be seen on the door of just about every home around Christmas time. There are many types of Christmas wreaths and they are certainly a nice addition to your Christmas decorations, but have you ever wondered about the origin or meaning of Christmas wreaths?
Laura Legend has!
Christmas wreaths are so beautiful. Whether they are made from evergreen, pine cones, tinsel, Styrofoam, wood or rope, when a wreath is hanging on someone’s front door it just seems to say “Welcome” as well as inspiring some Christmas spirit.
Of course, Laura Legend has to know if there is any historical significance behind the tradition of Christmas wreaths, even if the question will likely never come up in a trivia game!
You see, there is no supported information about the precise origin of the Christmas wreath; however, there are some historical facts that are somewhat associated with Christmas wreaths along with some legends and some long-lived customs regarding Christmas wreaths.
Many wreaths, before novelty-type influences, were made of holly. In ancient times Celts believed that holly had magical protective powers. In Roman mythology holly was sacred to Saturn, the sun god and pagans worshipped holly. Holly wreaths were also common to winter solstice celebrations.
Needless to say, the use of holly Christmas wreaths for celebration of the birth of Christ were controversial among Christians due to their association with magical power, paganism and multi-theism.
Never the less, decorating the halls with boughs of holly during the Christmas season became a tradition even in Christian homes. Some legends hold that the crown of thorns placed on Christ’s head at the time of the crucifixion was actually a wreath of holly with white berries that turned red from Christ’s blood.
In Germany, where the tradition of Christmas trees can be traced to, a Lutheran tradition emerged -- the Advent wreath. The Advent wreath is made of evergreen and is symbolic of eternity in God’s grace. It has three purple candles that represent penance, sorrow and expectation, and one pink candle which stands for hope and joy. The Advent wreath represents the four weeks of Advent and is used with white candles during the Christmas season.
The Advent wreath, minus the candles, is most similar to the wreaths used today for festive holiday decor, so most likely, the modern day tradition of Christmas wreaths originated from the Lutheran influence.