Christmas wreaths are being used
as the decorative sign of Christmas
for hundreds of year. Christmas wreath
is made from evergreen boughs that
arouse the feelings of Christmas and
it is usually hung on a door or wall.
In ancient Rome decorative wreaths
were used as a sign of victory. The
circular shape of Christmas wreath
represents the idea of a never ending
circle of life. The wreath, traditionally,
is made of four candles in a circle
with the fifth candle remaining in
the middle. The three candles in the
wreath are violet and the fourth is
rose.
The importance of these candles is
that before Christmas one of the candles
is lighted every week until 25th of
December, the Christmas day. The lighting
of the middle candle takes place on
the Christmas Eve which represents
the birth of Jesus Christ.
Broadly there are two types of Christmas
wreaths that are popular:
Advent Wreath: Advent wreath
is a part of the Catholic tradition.
Although one is not sure of its origin
but strong evidence indicates that
pre-Christian Germanic people used
wreaths with lit candles during the
cold winter of December to signify
hope for the future. Advent wreath
has a symbolic significance of victory
over persecution and also of strength,
healing, immortality. It is believed
that this kind of wreath was used
by Romans in ancient times to mark
the victory of the brave and strong.
Craft Wreath: These wreaths
are made for decorative purposes in
course of the Christmas. It adds extra
charm to the people and gives a true
feeling of the arrival of Christmas.
Different kind of colorful ribbons
and flowers are also used along with
the evergreen leaves for a craft wreath.
Christmas wreath is a very important
part of Christmas celebrations and
festivities. Holly branches and red
holly berries are the other important
components used in a Christmas wreath,
where the holly branches with thorns
symbolize the thorn on Jesus Christ's
crown while the red berry symbolizes
the blood of Jesus.
