I WAS NOT THE KIND OF JEWISH KID who nagged my parents for a Christmas tree. To this day, I’ve never had one, and I’ve always been OK with that. Christmas trees can be beautiful, for sure, and I would enjoy collecting ornaments, if only I had something to hang them on. But Christmas trees are not for the likes of me, and that’s fine. Really.
Now wreaths are another matter. I’ve always loved wreaths, and every week I eye them longingly at the Greenmarket. Still, there’s a twinge of guilt. Wreaths are so…Christmas-y.
Will this be the year I break out and buy a wreath to hang on my fireplace mantel, for the first time ever? Or will I just continue to take pictures of them? We shall see.
casaCARA: Old Houses for Fun & Profit 
You could always put blue and yellow on the wreath rather than red and green…
Yes, copper, and hang dreidels from it, too;-)
If wreathes are about any holiday in our current calendar of December festivities, it would be the Solstice. Wreaths pre-date Christmas by thousands of years.
Wreathes are a circle. They represent the connected, reliable, unchanging truth of Earth. The wholeness of the birth-death-rebirth cycle of crops, plants, life, existence, the Goddess and the ever-changing seasons. They are about newness, wholeness, the return of the light, the naturally lengthening days from the Winter Solstice onward, through the Equinox, to the Summer Solstice’s herald of the shortening ones. All part of the circle.
Evergreens are a celebration that are as old as humans living in cold climates. And they are part of religions and customs planet wide. So wreath it up. There is nothing exclusively Christian about them. Just like the timing of Christmas, they were “inspired” by existing celebrations. So create whatever tradition you like. Collect wreath ornaments. Enjoy the circle.
Thank you, Maze! Love your reasoning, your explanation, and your permission. I shall get a wreath this year!
I absolutely adore wreaths and the samples you’ve shown are superb! I say life is short, if you love something get it and make it yours for reasons that are yours and yours alone! I would love to meet you the next time I’m out east.
hi HT, your new blog design is swell! And I admire your non-sectarian holiday decorations;-) I’m in Brooklyn more than East Hampton these days, but shoot me an email when you’re available to meet. I could use your blog advice (34 comments on a post, wow!)