The preparations for Christmas begin long before Christmas and never seem to stop. One of my favorite activities a few weeks before Christmas is to stop by at one of the flower shops selling fresh branches and buy a bunch to make my own indoor creations. I like the look and smell of dogwood, spruce, pine, and cedar. All the images in this collage are creations of mine that bring the joy of the holiday season inside my heart and my home.
This tradition has been going on for a long time and here’s some interesting data that I found about this: “The use of Christmas greenery was originally a pagan custom. They used it for winter decorations in the home. Evergreens were seen as almost miraculous among the ancients and were almost worshiped. Anything green was thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of growth in the spring. Some didn’t stop at decorating the house but also wore sprigs for good luck. The greenery used by the ancients had symbolic value. Staying green in the dead of winter meant it symbolized eternal life since they didn’t die over the winter like everything else. Greenery was used in Rome for Saturnalia celebrations and for Kalends—the New Year in ancient Rome and elsewhere in Europe. On New Year’s Eve the Romans exchanged sprigs of holly with friends. They used it to celebrate the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun to honor Mithras, the sun god. This was held just after the winter solstice. Northern Europeans used it for Yule, the winter festival during pre-Christian times. Greenery and flowers were used during the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles when Jesus entered Jerusalem.”
I’m glad that the pagans started using greenery for winter decorations. It was a very good idea that certainly caught on with many other cultural groups and remains an important part of our Christmas celebrations today. I don’t have any ivy in my greenery arrangements but I have some fake holly. Christmas arrangements can be as diverse as the people who make them. That reminds me of the song that is a popular one at Christmas:
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
Have a glorious and joyous Christmas whether you bring evergreens in to decorate with or just have an artificial Christmas tree and other artificial decorations. It’s the spirit of Christmas that matters – although the decoratons certainly add to the excitement of the Season. Hope you like the collage!