Can You Hear The Sleigh Bells Yet?

We just can’t contain our excitement about Christmas!! It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year, and at Sonning Flowers it’s our favourite season.

So starting at the front door, with one of the most iconic Christmas symbols of all!

History of the Christmas Wreath…..

The wreath on the door might be one of the biggest signs that Christmas is on the way – along with Christmas trees and decorations appearing in shops! And it turns out, the two traditions come from the same place. The custom of bringing evergreens into the home during winter goes back to the 16th Century, where pruning the tree into a triangle (to represent the Holy Trinity) was part of the preparation process. Evergreens were an important part of the celebrations of the new year, so rather than throw the pruned pieces away, the Europeans would weave them into wreaths. These people were living in a time when everything in their lives was used until it was gone, including trees.

Over time, Christmas wreaths brought a whole new layer of meaning. Where originally they served as Christmas tree ornaments, they slowly became the standalone decorations we’re familiar with today. They were formed into a wheel-like shape partially for convenience’s sake — it was simple to hang a circle onto the branches of a tree — but the shape was also significant as a representation of divine perfection. They were also used to hold the Advent candles in later Christian practices, with the evergreen ring representing eternal life, and 4 candles for each week of Advent – 3 purple ones, and the 4th white to represent Jesus’ birth. And then of course, they are just festive and cheerful. They are a universal symbol of Christmas, of the start of the festive season and of unity in the house within. Isn’t that a lovely sentiment? [Read more…]