Wreath Making

I had my daily swim today and the weather is now turning to winter, frost and ice, the order of our days. Stayed in for 4 minutes and as the water gets colder, that time will come down. I cannot complain too much, the sun was shining and there was a mid breeze, outside temperature was a cool 4deg C.

Enough of this madness and on to another form of crazy. Wreath making, a tradition is in the making, Susan has managed to get family and friends to come together and make their own wreaths. Last Saturday was the second year they all travelled to Lady Vivienne’s home to make these very seasonal Christmas symbols of faith and hope.

We all admire a well-made wreath with red berries but there are those who see the wreath as a representation of the crown of thorns worn on the cross, the red berries are meant to be Christ’s blood.

Others see it as a symbol of hope, the round shape and the evergreen material make the wreath a representation of eternal life. A candle was placed in the ring to symbolise the light that Jesus brought into the world but modern life has taken over and as we do not have open fires in our houses anymore, they are considered a fire hazard, we now have battery-powered lights. There is warmth in seeing our wreath hanging on the front door, inviting us home with good cheer, laughter, love and togetherness.

But there is another school of thought. The tradition of the Christmas tree, yep, folklore has it that in the early 16th century the Northern Europeans started the tradition of the Christmas tree. The trees were cut down and trimmed, the trimmings were woven into wreaths. Who would have guessed but does make sense?

Holly is often woven into a wreath with bright red berries. We often decorate our doorways and homes with holly, it was believed to protect us against witches, goblins and satan himself, who might appear on a holy day.

Robins

These familiar birds are our constant companions in the UK, even as the days turn colder. I often wonder how do they survive the bitter cold?. They are tiny 16 to 20 grams. After some research, I have concluded that no one really knows but some say they tend to huddle together to share heat and they tuck their heads into minimising their surface area. We have two robins in our garden, but not exactly enough to share their heat. On cold nights I do think of them and hope they have a warm nest to shelter from the frost and wind.

My next blog will cover Gingerbread House making and other festive events.