This holiday season, I will be sharing different pieces of holiday history for you! Hopefully I can shed some (festive) light on why we observe the traditions that we do around the holiday seasons, and make them even more enjoyable. Christmas and the holiday season can look rather different depending on where you where; there are a few elements that stay consistent, though. Today I’m going to dig a little deeper into the tradition of holiday greenery! We all bring wreaths and poinsettas and trees into our houses each holiday season, but why are we still doing this now?
A lot of holiday greenery is fake nowadays; people store faux Christmas trees and wreaths until their designated time rolls around. However, some people still do have real greenery! We go hunting for our Christmas tree every year together as a family, and this is the first year that we have made our own wreaths. (I have to admit, I’m not a poinsetta person- they are poisonous to dogs and cats.) But why do we bring this holiday greenery into our homes?
The tradition of holiday greenery dates back to pre-Christian times. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, and nearly all greenery outside is dead by then. People would bring ever-green boughs, mistletoe, and holly into their homes to celebrate new life and rebirth, and the provide colour and warmth at a dark and cold time. Although Christians largely banned the tradition as pagan, it was revived in seventeenth century Germany. Queen Charlotte brought the tradition into the English royal family, and Victoria and Albert cemented its place. (And the British Empire imported tradition across the globe!)
My hope is to find some more live greenery that I can bring into the house, and keep. I may even try to get a teeny Christmas tree to keep on the window sill. In my history bite on the Christmas tree last year, I shared that people are renting Christmas trees for a more sustainable Christmas. Hopefully, we all are finding ways to be more green (in all meanings) this holiday season!
Did you know the history behind the tradition of holiday greenery?
Cheers,
The Historian
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Love this History Bite! 🙂 I did piece together that bringing greenery indoors this time of year has always been sort of a “last hurrah” before spring, but I am surprised to find out doing so was banned for being pagan – remarkable.
In a couple of weeks I’ll be going to a wreath-making workshop at a local farm/vineyard, and I can’t wait! I’ve never been to a workshop before, but my mom usually makes the wreaths she displays at home every year so it’s something I enjoy doing, too (although I’m not as good as she is).
I love this!! And that’s a beautiful wreath you’ve made. My mom and I used to decorate a live wreath every year when I was a little girl. However, I have no decor skills and do not decorate my own these days; I buy them pre-decorated. I prefer ones with a natural look — pinecones, holly, berries, or something like that. And, it has to have a BEAUTIFUL big bow. Usually bright red, but I can be swayed sometimes by something with a nice gold border or a good plaid. 😉 LOL. Decorated wreaths are so expensive where I live, though, so I usually only buy one every other year to hang on my front door. It’s a Christmas luxury I look forward to.
Also, I love poinsettias, but because I have a cat, I have fake ones in my home. Very, very good fake ones, lol. I searched high and low for them, and everyone thinks they are real when they come over. Mission accomplished. 🙂 I set them up around a wooden latern that I put a fake flickering candle in. The result is very hygge.
Ooooh, you have me all excited to decorate for Christmas now, after talking about all this!! 🙂