A Wreath of Victory
Every year we hang Christmas wreaths on our front door and over our fireplace. It's a nice-looking wreath: green with a white gloss of fake snow and a big red bow. The fake snow might be pushing the envelope a bit because it never snows in this part of California, but still, it's the idea that counts.
We just hung the wreath the other day and for the first time a thought sneaked up behind me: why do we hang up a wreath? I mean what does it mean, if anything? The thought kept nagging at me, so I went up to my office and dug out an old book I own: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols. I know, I know, I could have just Googled it. But this seemed better for some unexplainable reason. Probably my age showing.
Christmas wreaths are even older than me. The whole idea goes back thousands of years. The Greeks and the Romans awarded wreaths to victorious generals, to the winners of games, and even to politicians. Instead of a medal, the victors would have a wreath placed upon their heads. Sometimes the wreaths were made of valuable metals, like gold or silver. Other times, they would be made of flowers or leaves.
Because the Greek and Roman cultures were so influential, other cultures adopted the idea, adding their own innovations to the wreaths, things like precious jewels or colorful stones, even feathers. The wreaths – an unending circle – came to symbolize unity, and later encompassed the concept of eternity. In ancient cultures, wreaths became common symbols, representing religious, governmental and romantic concepts. Over time, the symbol of the wreath turned out to be universal.
As the idea of the Christmas holiday developed, the eternal aspect of the wreath was borrowed and symbolized by employing evergreens to manufacture Christmas wreaths. Evergreens, of course, because they are ‘ever green.' They never fade. So the early Christians took something that never faded – the evergreen – and twisted it into an eternal circle, a wreath that went on forever and ever. The dual mediums were the message and the message was the medium: the corona convivialis denoting eternal happiness, a happy fate and good luck.
Nowadays wreaths are made of everything under the sun: balloons, bottle caps, matchbooks, bark, pine cones, licorice, and I even saw one made of ice cream cones. But no matter what they're made of, in the end, the symbol of a new beginning that goes on and on remains within the shape of the wreath. So when you hang your wreath this year, no matter what it's made of, remember that it represents victory.
We just hung the wreath the other day and for the first time a thought sneaked up behind me: why do we hang up a wreath? I mean what does it mean, if anything? The thought kept nagging at me, so I went up to my office and dug out an old book I own: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols. I know, I know, I could have just Googled it. But this seemed better for some unexplainable reason. Probably my age showing.
Christmas wreaths are even older than me. The whole idea goes back thousands of years. The Greeks and the Romans awarded wreaths to victorious generals, to the winners of games, and even to politicians. Instead of a medal, the victors would have a wreath placed upon their heads. Sometimes the wreaths were made of valuable metals, like gold or silver. Other times, they would be made of flowers or leaves.
Because the Greek and Roman cultures were so influential, other cultures adopted the idea, adding their own innovations to the wreaths, things like precious jewels or colorful stones, even feathers. The wreaths – an unending circle – came to symbolize unity, and later encompassed the concept of eternity. In ancient cultures, wreaths became common symbols, representing religious, governmental and romantic concepts. Over time, the symbol of the wreath turned out to be universal.
As the idea of the Christmas holiday developed, the eternal aspect of the wreath was borrowed and symbolized by employing evergreens to manufacture Christmas wreaths. Evergreens, of course, because they are ‘ever green.' They never fade. So the early Christians took something that never faded – the evergreen – and twisted it into an eternal circle, a wreath that went on forever and ever. The dual mediums were the message and the message was the medium: the corona convivialis denoting eternal happiness, a happy fate and good luck.
Nowadays wreaths are made of everything under the sun: balloons, bottle caps, matchbooks, bark, pine cones, licorice, and I even saw one made of ice cream cones. But no matter what they're made of, in the end, the symbol of a new beginning that goes on and on remains within the shape of the wreath. So when you hang your wreath this year, no matter what it's made of, remember that it represents victory.
Source...