Focus on the Future - Reflect on the Past (Decoration Ideas)

Member Name: zebra

Product:	Decoration Ideas
Date:	24/10/00 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They're cheerful and universally symbolic.

Disadvantages: Some are too 'designer' to be meaningful.

Sorry I haven't updated this op - I've just resurrected it- cos it's that time of year again. I'm sorry it's in the wrong category too - dooyoo decided to put it in this sub category after it had been posted.

Christians and pagans each have their own ideas about Christmas trees and decorations and this is one of those subjects which could lead to a heated debate. But Christmas is a time for celebration and reconciliation, in theory at least if not in practice.

Since time immemorial people have had some sort of celebration at the time of the winter solstice. The shortest day, and longest night, occurs around 20/21 December and from thereon things begin to brighten up. It may be true that December 25 was chosen to celebrate the birth of Christ because it was the Roman’s winter solstice celebration ‘Saturnalia’ but I don’t think that matters so much as the universal symbolism behind the celebration.

In virtually every culture trees or a specific tree have always been a symbol of life. The ancient Egyptians were known to have bought palm branches into their homes on the shortest day of the year as a symbol of life’s triumph over death. And this ultimately is the symbolism behind the traditions of Christmas trees and evergreen decorations during the winter holidays.

The important part is the ‘evergreenness’ of the tree or foliage. The eternal ‘life’ shown by this greenery is a promise that even in the darkest part of winter we have the hope of spring and new life that this brings.

The traditions of cutting trees and bringing them into homes began in ancient times when, on the whole, trees were plentiful. But shouldn’t we now be questioning the tradition of cutting down a living tree to celebrate ‘life’? Many people want a traditional tree but apart from the fact that the ‘traditional’ tree is only recently ‘traditiona
l’ these trees are prickly, drop their needles and are often a fire hazard. Some people try to buy trees with roots so they can be planted but unless carefully acclimatised and treated with a great deal of care this is not usually very successful.

My own answer has been to use the top of one of the leylandii trees in the garden. These would be giant trees need cutting back regularly anyway so no harm is done. They also smell wonderful and don’t drop their needles. But sometimes we just use an artificial tree and gather some fresh evergreen foliage to give a bit of real atmosphere.

Holly and ivy have both pagan and Christian traditions associated with them but here again I think it is more useful to focus on the evergreennness rather than argue about origins. Some Christians don’t like the idea of mistletoe at all because it is even more associated with pagan festivals. However on of the nicer traditions of this plant is very much in keeping with the Christmas vision of peace and goodwill. Mistletoe was a sacred plant of the Druids and was considered so sacred that if enemies accidentally met under some mistletoe in the forest they would immediately lay down their arms, exchange a friendly greeting and call a truce until the following day. Would that the whole world be covered in mistletoe.

So we get round to decorations. There are many theories regarding the decoration of trees at Christmas but I rather like the one which associates it with the festival of Adam and Eve. In the middle ages the festival of Adam and Eve was celebrated on Christmas Eve and part of the celebration was having an evergreen tree decorated with red apples. This festival is not commonly kept nowadays, apparently the festival got a bit licentious and got banned, but it might account for apple decorations on trees.

Christmas trees have become in recent years more ‘designer’, colour co-ordinated and are more a fashion statement
than anything else. But however elegant and beautiful they may look I don’t think these trees have the same appeal as those which are decorated with ornaments and decorations made and collected over the years.

Opening the decorations box and rediscovering the special baubles and bits is an annual joy for me. The old angel who sits at the top of the tree has become a bit battered but I haven’t the heart to replace her. Some of the hand made decorations may not be as beautiful as bought ones but they hold special memories of Christmases past. In their own way therefore Christmas trees and decorations symbolise not only a turning point in the year with its promise of new life but a reflection on Christmases past and fond memories.

But my favourite ‘decoration’ of all is the nativity set. It has become a tradition in our house that the grandchildren set it up and tell the Christmas story in their own individual way as they do it. It may lead to an argument and the story might change annually but it is after all Christ’s mass.

Summary: