It’s that time of year again, time to dig out the box of Christmas decorations and think about decorating the shop and house. Every year it is the same, not being able to remember what’s in the box! Decorations get tired and are inevitably thrown away in the new year, so remembering what survived and what did not is never easy. And this year was no different at the shop. Did the big glittery balls survive? Or how about my favourite, a wreath made and gifted to me by my extremely talented sister-in-law back in England, Kate Gibbins. I received it when I first opened the shop in Kudanminami in 2015 and it has hung proudly on the shop door every Christmas since. And I am very happy to confirm it has survived another year! Maybe the ribbons are looking a little tired, but the wreath itself is still in tiptop condition. The sign of a true craftsperson’s work.

Kate made the wreath from the dried flowers of the Limonium plant, otherwise known as Sea Lavender. It has lovely small star-shaped flowers. The wreath is then decorated with fir cones foraged from a local forest and shop-bought decorations.

Using evergreen vegetation to decorate the house at Christmas time is a British tradition dating back centuries and is still popular today. Mixing natural decorations with shop-bought ones reminds me of spending Christmas back in England with the family. My Mum has decorated her staircase in this way for many years, wrapping small branches of different evergreen shrubs from her garden around the stair banisters and rail and adding in glittery tinsel and baubles. It really does look lovely. Although speaking to her recently, she is just about to get the decorators in to regloss the staircase and she will not do the decorations this year for fear of scratching the new paint. I am sure the tradition will return though.

Decorating our homes with evergreens has its origins in Celtic and Norse pagan beliefs. The early Christian Church wanted to discourage these practices, as they were a reminder of earlier pagan traditions but fortunately for us, they decided to build on the evergreens’ characteristics to symbolise aspects of the Christian message, and today Holly, Ivy and Christmas fir trees are a key component of a British Christmas.

In Celtic mythology, the woods were ruled by two kings, the Holly and the Oak. The Holly King gained power at the Summer Solstice and ruled over the gradual shortening of the days until the Winter Solstice, when the Oak King too control and ruled over the coming of Spring and Summer.

The combination of white flowers, red berries and evergreen leaves meant that Holly was traditionally seen as a symbol of fertility and protection, and it was originally brought into our homes as a defence against evil spirits and witches. In rural folklore, witches were believed to run along the tops of hedges, so the prickly Holly tree was often left uncut to obstruct the witches.

Closely linked to Holly in our Christmas carols is the Ivy – a ground or climbing vine that has its own root system to absorb nutrients and water and uses the tree as a support. The pair symbolised the male (Holly) and the female (Ivy) and traditionally it was believed that by putting the two together it would bring peace into the household.

When you think of Christmas, one of the first images to spring to mind is probably a Christmas tree, covered in twinkly decorations, lights and tinsel. Many people think the tradition of Christmas trees in Britain started with the Victorians. Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were known to be very big fans of Christmas! However, the tradition actually dates back further than that. It originally came from Germany, where Prince Albert was born, and was introduced to England during the Georgian period, when King George III was on the throne. He had a German wife called Charlotte, who it is thought used to decorate a tree for her family in the 1790s. But Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are said to be the ones who made it extremely popular and fashionable to decorate a tree at Christmas like this, which is why a lot of Brits think that they started the tradition.

In a wonderful historical circle, this Germanic tradition has a legendary English link through St Boniface. Born in Devon in approximately 675, he was educated at the monastery in Exeter before becoming a priest. He was sent to Germany to promote the Christian faith and discourage paganism.

The Christmas Tree legend builds on St Boniface’s decision to destroy the ‘Thunder Oak’ in the village of Geismar. This mighty Oak was the focus for a winter Pagan festival that involved human sacrifice and St Boniface believed that by destroying the Oak, he would demonstrate the power of the Christian God and convert the local people. After the tree had fallen a small fir tree was found growing next to it and St Boniface used its evergreen leaves as a symbol of Christian everlasting life.

Ever since 1947, Norway has donated a tree to London to say thank you for helping them during World War II. A special ceremony is held in Norway in November, when the tree is cut down. Then, it comes over to the UK by sea, before being transported to London. It is always decorated in traditional Nordic style and displayed in Trafalgar Square.

Now, if you are feeling creative and are looking for some inspiration for homemade Christmas decorations here are some images of Kate’s work from her time as owner of Windmill Farm Flowers, Somerset England. Stylishly modern.

Wreaths:

Indoor Decorations:

Merry Christmas everyone. From all of us at Swan & Lion, we hope you have a wonderful festive season.