Christmas is just around the corner, so it's time to think about decor. Of course, the most important attribute of the winter holidays is a lush evergreen tree, but do not forget about other, no less beautiful, options for Christmas (and New Year) decor.

Among all other decorations, it is worth highlighting the Christmas wreath or Advent wreath - a very beautiful attribute of winter decor that came to us from the Catholic world. Now many will say that this decoration has nothing to do with Orthodoxy and Orthodox Christmas, but do not rush to conclusions.

No matter how strange it may sound, church holidays of absolutely all directions of Christianity (including Orthodoxy) have pagan roots, and therefore they are all closely intertwined. So why not decorate your home with such a magnificent attribute as a Christmas wreath and make it an annual family tradition? But first, let's find out where this decoration came from and what meaning it carries.

History of origin

There are several versions of the origin of the Advent wreath. It is known that pagans also made winter wreaths using branches of evergreen coniferous trees, as well as nuts, cones, and various berries. In addition, mention should be made of the holly wreath that was placed on the head of Jesus Christ before the crucifixion.

However, the most popular version says that the Advent wreath was introduced as a tradition by a German theologian Johann Wichern. In his house lived little pupils whom he took from poor families. The guys constantly asked Johann when Christmas would come. And so that the children would not constantly torment him with this question, the teacher took a wheel made of wood and decorated it with nineteen small red and four white candles. Every day the guys lit one red candle, and when Sunday came, they all lit a white one together. And when there was only one big candle left, the children learned that tomorrow was Christmas. Thus, Johann was able to brighten up the period of waiting for the brightest holiday for the children.

The people of Germany liked this idea so much that soon a Christmas wreath began to appear in every home. Gradually the tradition spread throughout Europe, and then to the USA.

Symbolism

The Advent wreath has several meanings. So, on the one hand, the flame symbolizes the growing feeling of joy of the coming Christmas, the circle - the infinity of being, the green color of the pine needles - life, and the red color of candles and ribbons - the blood of Christ, bells, which are also sometimes used to decorate a wreath, mean the death of evil spirits and the birth of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, a wreath with four candles can be interpreted as the four sides of the Earth, and the round shape symbolizes eternal life.

The materials from which the wreath is made also have interesting symbolism:

• mistletoe protects the house from evil spirits and brings happiness to all its inhabitants.
• Holly It is considered a symbol of life, because the head of the Savior was decorated with a crown from this plant before the crucifixion.
• Poinsettia considered a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi to little Jesus.
• In the tradition of the Celts spruce- a tree symbolizing eternal life. Interestingly, the Slavs considered spruce a symbol of death; they even decorated the graves of the dead with spruce branches. You can read more about this tree in our article “Why a Christmas tree is a Christmas and New Year tree.”

Materials for production

The classic Christmas wreath is made from spruce branches, decorated with four large candles and red ribbons. Catholics often place three purple candles and one pink candle in their wreaths, as these colors are symbols of worship during the Advent period. The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday, which is called Gaudete, which translates from Latin as “Rejoice!”

However, many florist companies and craftsmen make Advent wreaths from a variety of materials. So, popular decorations are pine cones, nuts, artificial and real berries, cinnamon sticks, dried citrus fruits, red glass balls. Some use modern materials such as paper cutting, rain, beads of different sizes and colors, plaster figures, fabric, beads, etc.

Below, see photos of interesting Christmas wreaths, which you can order from craftsmen or make yourself:

Advent wreath with four candles

Advent wreath with one candle

Advent wreath with unusual and decorated candles

A classic version of the Catholic Advent wreath

Christmas wreath made from natural materials

Paper Christmas wreath

Textile Christmas wreath

Christmas wreath made of beads

Unusual options for Christmas wreaths

A classic Advent wreath with candles is placed on the table. But they also make versions of wreaths without candles, which can be used to decorate a fireplace or front door. A wreath at the entrance means that you are ready to celebrate Christmas and invite everyone to share this holiday with you.

Features in different countries

It’s interesting that different countries have their own characteristics of Christmas wreaths:

• In Germany, the most popular is the classic version of the Christmas wreath.
• In France, it is customary to decorate Christmas wreaths with compositions of dried flowers.
• The Scots sometimes use the famous checkered fabric instead of the classic red ribbons.
• In Scandinavian countries, cones, red braid and golden bells are especially popular.
• In the United States, red and green are considered the main colors of Advent, so Americans often decorate their wreaths with small red bows and gold-colored decor.

According to historical tradition, the birthplace of the Advent wreath is Germany. The essential attributes of a classic Christmas wreath are pine branches, red ribbons and candles.

The tradition of decorating a wreath with bells appeared a little later. A wreath with four candles was brought into the house four weeks before Christmas, and one candle was lit every Sunday. On Christmas Eve, when the last candle burned out, a wreath was hung on the front door - as a forerunner and symbol of the holiday.

The basis of a traditional wreath is the branches of coniferous trees. It was believed that spruce and pine represent the triumph of life and bring happiness and prosperity to the house. In addition, it was generally believed that the shiny bells that decorate the wreath ward off evil spirits with their ringing and serve as a kind of amulet.

Over time, the tradition of decorating a house with New Year and Christmas wreaths came to most countries of Western Europe and the USA, and in the last few years it has become popular in Russia. It is customary to decorate the entrance doors and windows of houses with New Year and Christmas wreaths or simply hang them on one of the walls in the house. The wreath is attached to the window opening using fairly long and wide decorative ribbons with a bow.

As a rule, the basis of a New Year's wreath continues to be the branches of coniferous trees, and the decor can be very diverse. A wreath in a classic style is decorated with red ribbons and small bells and decorative candles. Gold-colored decorations are widely used as New Year's decor - balls, bows, angel figurines, gilded cones.

No less interesting and also paying tribute to the classical tradition can be a Christmas wreath, decorated with glossy leaves and red holly berries, poinsettia and mistletoe branches. This design option for a Christmas wreath belongs to the North American tradition.

In Western European countries, candied fruits, marzipan figures, sweets and gilded nuts were used as decorations for the Christmas wreath and New Year tree. Today, “fruit” Christmas decor is very popular; it is unusually bright, lush and impressive.

A New Year's wreath decorated with miniature soft toys and Christmas balls looks incredibly charming. It will be especially appropriate in a house where there are small children.

Today, Christmas wreaths decorated with gilded pine cones, nuts, fragrant cinnamon sticks, dried flowers and boxes of dried flower plants have become very popular. This wreath creates an extraordinary feeling of coziness and warmth of home.

Today in Russia, the New Year or Christmas wreath is increasingly becoming, if not an alternative, then a spectacular addition to the New Year tree. It is used as a festive decoration for residential buildings, offices, cafes and restaurants. A large selection of decorative options for the Christmas wreaths themselves allows you to use them to decorate interiors of a wide variety of styles.

On New Year's and Christmas Eve, wreaths with twinkling lights in the branches look incredibly impressive. As such an elegant backlight and an alternative to burning candles, you can use a small New Year's LED garland. Depending on the style of the wreath, you can choose white and matte yellow lighting or multi-colored lights.

Windows decorated with illuminated New Year's wreaths look amazingly beautiful, unusual and magical.

What are Christmas wreaths made from in Europe?

The first letter is "o"

Second letter "l"

The third letter "b"

The last letter of the letter is "a"

Answer to the question "What are Christmas wreaths made of in Europe", 5 letters:
alder

Alternative crossword questions for the word alder

Elokha, elshina. What kind of tree

Tree with earrings

Birch sister

Medicinal plant

What was the ark used to build on which Rhea Silvia sent the twins Romulus and Remus down the river

The tree that makes the best firewood for barbecues

Deciduous tree whose fruits are cones

Definition of the word alder in dictionaries

Wikipedia Meaning of the word in the Wikipedia dictionary
Alkha is a village in the Ershov volost of the Pskov district of the Pskov region of Russia. Located 14 km north of the city center of Pskov and 9 km east of the volost center of the village of Ershovo. The population of the village as of 2000 was...

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Dal Vladimir The meaning of the word in the dictionary Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Dal Vladimir
and. Yolkha Vlad. Vyat. eloha lower olshina, elshina, olshina novg. Psk. volkha thief. chickens Alnus glutinosa tree, black alder, small species. A. incana, stone alder, alder birch, alder bush. With your heart you will bend an alder tree, but with a twisted tree you will break an elm tree. If birch...

Examples of the use of the word alder in literature.

With his lidless eyes, he saw in front of him a deep muddy barrel between thick roots. alders.

Alder Yes, the aspen were crowded out by the oak and hazel trees, the grass seemed to be getting lower in the copses, the heather and blueberry trees were growing thicker in the forests, and yet one could hardly feel the difference: day after day, but the same land!

She also then admired the lively river twenty steps from the lake, along which dry reeds and yellow willow leaves floated - it was noticeable - with considerable speed, floated to where, because of the dark alder the red chimney of the thread factory rose.

She lived for Shmelev a living and original life, which still reminds of itself in the names of streets and alleys, squares and playgrounds, driveways, embankments, dead ends, which hid large and small fields, clearings, open fields, sand, mud and clay, mosses under the asphalt , alders, even wilds, or derbies, ku-lizhki, swampy places and the swamps themselves, hummocks, meadows, enemy ravines, valley ditches, graves, as well as pine forests and a great variety of gardens and ponds.

They feed on weed seeds alders and birch trees, red-capped finches quickly master the conditions of an aviary.

Surely Russian people have ever thought about why Catholics decorate their homes with a rather unusual item on Christmas holidays - a wreath? And it becomes curious whether it’s just a decoration or an attribute of Christmas that carries a special meaning? Let's find out!

A traditional Advent wreath with four candles symbolizing the light that will illuminate the world with the birth of Christ.

A traditional Advent wreath with four candles, symbolizing the light that will illuminate the world with the birth of Christ, is an attribute of Lutheranism that came from Germany.
Previously, it was created with your own hands from spruce or fir branches, decorated with apples, sweets and red ribbons.

The wreath was made from fir branches and decorated with apples, sweets and red ribbons.

The Christmas wreath is decorated not only with candles, but also with bells. For example, in Scandinavia, their melodic ringing symbolizes the completion of all work and invites fun and celebration. England has its own belief that the ringing of bells disperses evil spirits and welcomes Christ.

The ringing of bells disperses evil spirits and welcomes Christ.

Special mention must be made of the red ribbons that the classic Christmas wreath is so rich in. In Christianity, red is a royal color and signifies the future resurrection of Christ.

Later, it became quite easy to buy such a wreath in a store, and its decorations have changed - now a variety of wreaths are sold: woven from twigs, made entirely from apples, pine cones or New Year's balls, etc.

A variety of wreaths are now on sale

The imagination of designers is inexhaustible! In Europe, the Advent wreath can be seen both in the church altar and on the dining table. On the streets, wreaths with glowing lights decorate shops, salons, and company offices. Now this is a rather fashionable Christmas attribute that can be found even in Russian homes!

On the streets, wreaths with glowing lights decorate shops

The candles that are lit on the wreath during the holiday season carry a special meaning. The candles on the wreath begin to be lit four weeks before Christmas. One every Sunday, as we get closer to the holiday. On the last Sunday, all four candles fill the house with warmth and light. These 4 Sundays are called the days of pre-Christmas Advent (adventus, from Latin - arrival, onset). Every family knows that the days before Christmas bring with them the joy of preparations for the celebration of the birth of the Baby Jesus.

The candles on the wreath begin to be lit four weeks before Christmas.

Each Sunday of Advent is dedicated to a specific “memory”, which corresponds to the Gospel readings during the service.

First Sunday of Advent. On this day, the first candle in the Advent wreath is lit - the Candle of Prophecy. It symbolizes the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Christ. The French celebrate the fulfillment of these prophecies - the coming of the Savior to earth as a Child, His coming into the hearts of people through faith in the Word of God, and His final coming in glory to judge all mortals.

Second Sunday of Advent. On this day, the Candle of Prophecy and the second candle in the Advent wreath, the Bethlehem Candle, are lit. It represents the coming to earth of Jesus, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary. This is a symbol of preparation for the meeting of the Infant Christ.

Third Sunday of Advent. On this day, the first two candles are lit and the third, the Shepherds’ Candle, is added. The Shepherd's Candle signifies the coming of the Savior into the hearts of ordinary people through faith in His Holy Word. She seems to be talking about how the shepherds saw the Savior with their own eyes and believed. So all believers should see Him with the eyes of faith. For the French, this candle also symbolizes how ordinary people share their faith in Christ, like the shepherds who told everyone they met about Him.

Fourth Sunday of Advent. On this day, the first three candles are lit and the last one, the Angelic Candle, is added. It signifies the last coming of the Savior with all the Angels to take all true believers with him to heaven.

However, in many countries, for example in America, they did not know about candles - there a spruce wreath is simply hung on the door of the house as a decoration.

In America, a spruce wreath is hung on the door of a house as a decoration.

In Europe, the wreath carries a special meaning and significance. This is a symbol of faith and joy about the birth of the Savior and his coming into the world. A traditional Christmas wreath with candles is placed horizontally - for example, placed on a table. However, a wreath without candles can be hung on a wall or door. On the wall it decorates the house and reminds the whole family of upcoming joyful events, and on the door it tells those who come about the cordiality and hospitality of the owners and their readiness to share the holiday with the guest.

A traditional Advent wreath with candles is placed on the table.

But, speaking objectively, I cannot help but touch upon another version, another view on the symbolic form of the Advent wreath. It is round, and this shape has been associated with the shape of a wheel since ancient times and many thousands of years ago, long before the advent of Christianity, symbolized the Sun. Another 2000 BC in various unrelated nations there was a holiday of the rebirth of the Sun, the victory of good over evil. This event took place during the winter solstice (late December), when the day began to increase and light triumphed over darkness. Therefore, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that the Advent wreath is only a Christian tradition. All earthly cultures are inextricably linked, and modern customs have the deepest roots, penetrating history many millennia ago...

The shape of the wreath symbolized the Sun.

What is your opinion on this matter? Are there really pagan roots in Christian traditions or not? And should a Russian person bring a Catholic Christmas attribute - a wreath - into his home?