Christmas wreath, a quick history

Why do we adorn our front door with a Christmas wreath?

The Christmas wreath ( and tree) was brought into fashion by the Victorians. The German Prince Albert introduced the German tradition into this country. The English had a tradition of Decking the halls with Holly…

But the tradition of the wreath is far older than that. In pre- Christian Germanic tribes a “wheel” of evergreen branches was made around the time of the winter solstice to pray for the return of the sun. The choice of materials is still the same choice the florist makes today: the evergreen branches of pine, box, mistletoe, ivy and holly. These plants didn’t shed their leaves in autumn but kept going throughout winter and often held mystical properties to the local druids.

We add cones and cinnamon sticks and dried oranges, the last 2 items possibly an ode to Saint Nicholas, who came from Spain!

A wreath was presented to friends and family to hang on their door because you wished for the sun to return to them, to show them that you cared.

The Greeks and Romans took it to the next level and presented friends and family with a wreath on New Years Eve to wish them good health in the year ahead. The wreath became a symbol of status, the bigger and more ornate the wreath, the more influential you were (so not a lot has changed then)

It’s the same Germanics in Victorian times that moved the wreath from the table to the front door and introduced the Christmas tree to this country.

There is a special wreath section in the Rose&Mary shop.

We.absolutely love making wreaths. Planning starts in August. We spend the summer scouring the forests for cones and the Christmassy foliage starts coming in mid November. It’s always a good day when the delivery comes in from Holland. All the lovely structures and fragrance of the Blue Pine, differ t types of Cypresses, Sugar Pine, Garhya and Berries Ivy.
Have a look and order one if you like. We also make candle arangements and garlands. If you want a variation of what we have to offer feel free to contact us so we can make you a bespoke one. You can also order one with just foliage and add your own decoration.