Personalize Your Christmas Wreath This Year

A Christmas wreath is something you see on almost every door during the holiday season. For some people it is their only outdoor decoration and others go all out with lights and Santa Claus on the roof but still have that Christmas wreath on the door.

Add meaning to your Christmas wreath this year by decorating it with things you love. Buy a beautiful Christmas wreath and add your own decorations to it. Look around your yard and find natural decorations. If you have an oak tree you can gather up some of the oak nuts and attach them. You can use fishing line or a glue gun to attach the decorations to the wreath. Cut off a couple branches from your burning bush and add those.

If you are a bird lover, buy a few small stuffed birds at your local craft store to use on your wreath. Winter doves, cardinals and chickadees are favorites. If you love the ocean, add sea shells, sea urchin shells, starfish, sand dollars and other sea life like hermit crab shells. These all look beautiful displayed amongst the fresh balsam fir boughs of the Christmas wreath.

Sports lovers can add decorations for their favorite teams. A Boston Red Sox fan can add a small Red Sox pennant or other nick knack with the team logo on it. Tennis lovers can add a tennis ball and tennis racket ornaments. Everyone in the family can have their favorite sport or team represented. A golf ornament attached for Dad, tennis ornament for Mom, soccer ball for the kids and a Red Sox ornament for everyone.

Candy lovers can add small candy canes and hard candy. Visitors can help themselves and you can replenish the candy on the Christmas wreath as needed.

Consider adding fruit to your wreath. Red fruits like pomegranates, crabapples, sprigs of red pepper berries and of course, holly berries, look beautiful. Eucalyptus, magnolia, holly and amaryllis also look wonderful. Eucalyptus adds a pungent aroma to the fresh, fragrant scent of the balsam fir.

Add garland around your door and continue the decorating theme of your Christmas wreath on the garland. Put a family photo in a frame at the center of the garland above the door with your favorite holiday greeting beneath it. This adds a personal welcome from your whole family to all visitors.

Lights can also be added to Christmas wreaths. Buy a string of battery operated lights and string them through the wreath. Use your imagination to make your Christmas wreath unique and personal this year. It’s much easier if you start out with a fresh Christmas wreath and add your own decorations to it.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Maine Christmas Wreaths For Christmas In July

Christmas in July is becoming more popular every year. It is used most often by retailers as a marketing tool. Many stores have Christmas in July sales. Seasonal businesses like campgrounds will have Christmas in July celebrations as a fun festivity. Campers decorate their campers and a contest is held for the best decorated campsite. Traditional natural decorations are limited for use in the hot summer months but many alternatives are available.

Artificial or twig christmas wreaths are used to decorate rather than fresh balsam christmas wreaths which Maine is famous for. However, the fragrance of freshly mowed lawns, lilacs, wildflowers and outdoor barbeques don’t replace the unique aroma associated with Christmas that only balsam fir has.

Fresh balsam boughs when cut from the balsam trees during the summer months lose their needles quickly. Most balsam boughs are harvested from early October to early December in Maine to make fresh Christmas wreaths and Christmas centerpieces. The balsam boughs retain their needles best if harvested after the second hard frost. If you have received a fresh balsam Christmas wreath whose needles have fallen off quickly its likely that the balsam boughs were harvested before the cold fall weather has set the branches of the balsam fir tree. Setting seals the branch's pores with wax and the needles will stay on the branch for months after cutting.

Consequently, fresh balsam isn’t used often for Christmas in July wreaths. They are not commercially available. At Acadia Wreath Company we have sent out samples of our fresh balsam christmas wreaths to corporate christmas wreath clients in the summer months but we make sure they understand that it’s going to turn brown fast and the needles are going to fall off quickly.

Nice natural alternatives used in Maine for Christmas in July are Maine blueberry vine twig wreaths. They are limited, harvested in late winter and early spring but they are beautiful. The vines are red and green and easy to add decorations to. Another popular wreath choice are sweetfern twig wreaths. Sweetfern has brown and burgundy tones and has herbal sweetfern scented pods on many of the twigs. Both of these twig wreaths are harvested in the wild blueberry barrens in Downeast Maine. Either the blueberry vine twig wreath or the sweetfern will last for years. Place a balsam fir pillow near your twig wreath or artificial wreath and get the wonderful scent of Christmas. But remember it's still July and the true joy of the Christmas season will be here before you know it.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

The Year Round Tradition of Wreaths

The tradition of putting wreaths on doors and walls started in the 7th century B.C. when tree branches were used to crown the winners of the Olympic games. When exactly the wreath moved from the head to the door is unknown but the athletes probably hung their crowns on their wall and it took off from there.

One of the most popular holiday decorations is the Christmas wreath. Christmas wreaths are hung on doors, windows, fences, gates, from the stairway with garland or over the fireplace and used as centerpieces or advent wreaths on the table. Homes or offices don’t seem festive during the holiday season without this favorite decoration. Many people with second homes they don’t use during the holiday season still make sure there’s a wreath on the door to share the spirit of the season with their neighbors.

Many people make their own Christmas wreaths using decorations of meaning to them. A bird lover might decorate their wreath with small birds and different types of berries birds love like holly berries. A gardener may decorate their wreath with dried flowers like hydrangeas, fruits like apples or cranberries and blueberry or grape vines and twigs, all harvested from their own gardens. A lover of the sea might add seashells, clamshells, sea urchin shells and starfish to their wreath. These decorations are placed in the balsam fir and pine boughs they have cut, sometimes from their own property. These wreaths make great meaningful gifts to give to friends and family.

Fall wreaths are very popular. Autumn leaves can be used as a base. Twigs, vines and branches are used. Bright, burgundy burning bush branches are beautiful. Decorations are added throughout the fall like small pumpkins and ghosts for Halloween and turkeys and small cornucopia type dried fruits for Thanksgiving.

A spring wreath can add to Easter or Mother’s day celebrations. Freeze-dried flowers are typically used on spring wreaths. Pink roses, daffodils, pansies, miniature carnations, seeded eucalyptus, white larkspur and artemisa are popular choices.

Herb wreaths are wonderful additions to any kitchen or dining room. They are made with bouquets of different herbs. Herbs like Mexican or Greek oregano, sage, marjoram, bay laurel, lavender, red hot chilies, basil, bay leaves and thyme are used. There are numerous combinations of colors and textures that can be used and individual tastes dictate which herb wreath is chosen.

The many different types of wreaths are beautiful decorations for walls or doors, inside or outside your home or office. Hanging a different wreath for every season keeps both you and your guests aware that a new season has arrived.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Christmas Wreaths and Winter Solstice Celebrations

Christmas wreaths have a seasonal connection with the pagan feasts of the winter solstice. Winter solstice happens on the shortest day of the year when, in the northern hemisphere, the earth is tilted farthest away from the sun. The sun has its lowest arc in the sky of the year on winter solstice.

Winter solstice ceremonies were performed by many cultures over time. Fear that the sun would never return were the motivation for these ceremonies. Ceremonies and celebrations gave hope. Many of these cultures were pagan sun worshipers. Some of the greatest architectures of ancient cultures were built to align with the solstices and equinoxes – temples, tombs, cairns and sacred observatories.

The earliest Christmas wreaths were made from holly during Roman times. Holly was looked on as having magical powers to the ancient Celts as it was one of the few plants to survive and look beautiful in the winter. The Celts picked holly boughs and put them in their houses to ward off the evils they believed lurked about in the darker months. Roman soldiers are believed to have brought the idea of decorating with holly back from Britain.

Holly was used by the Romans during their winter solstice celebrations and became sacred to Saturn, the sun god the Romans worshipped. The week long winter solstice celebrations of the Romans honored Saturn. Holly wreaths with their bright red berries were given as gifts. Holly was everywhere during these celebrations – on the public buildings, in the streets and shops, inside and outside of homes. The tradition of giving wreaths as gifts started here. Holly was thought to be lucky so the more you had the better off you were.

Early Christians in Rome would decorate their homes with holly to avoid persecution during the winter solstice festivals even though they didn’t worship Saturn. Over time the meaning behind the tradition of holly Christmas wreaths blurred and it eventually became a symbol of Christian faith. It was used to explain the life and death of Christ. The leaves represented the crown of thorns and the red berries represented Jesus’ blood.

The Roman Emperor Constantine gave official status to Christianity and forced all the pagans to be baptized into the Roman church. He needed to join the Christians and pagans and so pagan rituals and idols took on Christian names and pagan holidays like winter solstice festival became Christian holidays. December 25th was the birthday of the Gods to the pagans. Eventually many pagan symbols and traditions were melded into Christian symbols and traditions.

Today Christmas wreaths are a seasonal tradition that most people in the United States follow. You don’t go by many houses without a wreath on the door during the holidays. The meaning of the wreath is not so much about religion as it is about showing seasonal cheer and good will to all.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Why Real Christmas Wreaths Are Better for the Environment

Conscientious consumers today concerned about the environment are taking the time to consider the consequences of their purchases. More and more people are making an effort to purchase products that use renewable resources. When it comes to buying a real, live Christmas wreath or an artificial wreath many people are choosing real.

Artificial wreaths are made from plastics and other petroleum based products. You’d have to be living on the moon to not know that petroleum is not a renewable resource. This alone should motivate people to not purchase artificial wreaths. Most artificial wreaths are made in China whose demand for petroleum is increasing by 25% a year as more Chinese can afford to have cars. Petroleum is used to make the plastic for artificial wreaths and more petroleum is used to transport them to the United States.

The biggest reason people buy artificial wreaths is because they last for many years. They have an expected life of nine or ten years. Most people don’t keep them that long and of course they end up at the landfill where they will stay for 5000 years or more.

Live Christmas wreaths have many environmental benefits. They’re recyclable if you take the wires and rings off. Many communities have recycling programs in place during the holiday season to pick up your Christmas trees and wreaths. They are chipped and made into mulch. However, Christmas wreaths are usually kept on doors far past the holiday season.

Real Christmas wreaths are a renewable resource. The trees are not cut down to harvest the branches used for Christmas wreaths. Around 12 to 18 inches of the branches are cut off or tipped as we say in Maine. These branches continue to grow year after year. Real Christmas wreaths are more of a renewable resource than even real Christmas trees. Even though Christmas tree farms typically plant up to three more trees for every one they cut down they are still cutting one down. Tipping trees is kind of like pruning your shrubbery. The branches grow back.

Live balsam fir trees used for Maine Christmas wreaths are the most fragrant of all the fir varieties. Approximately 85% of Maine is forests. Forests are very important in the fight against global warming. Trees take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and release oxygen. Burning fossil fuels to produce plastics adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere contributing to global warming.

Consumers concerned about the environment should choose a live Christmas wreath over an artificial wreath as it is recyclable, renewable and less of a contributor to global warming.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

China Makes Christmas for the World

China is the world’s biggest manufacturer of Christmas products. China exports nearly 2 billion US dollars worth of Christmas products per year with more than half going to the United States. Most of it comes from Shenzhen in South China’s Guangdong province. There are over 3,000 factories in Shenzhen producing artificial Christmas trees. Christmas lights, ornaments and Christmas wreaths are also made here. These items are all made from plastic and metals.

Shenzhen is on the coast about an hours drive from Hong Kong. Before 1985, most of these products were mass produced in Taiwan and Hong Kong where the labor was cheap and ports were easily accessible. Taiwan and Hong Kong were not under the strict communist rule of China. By 1985, Taiwan and Hong Kong had developed into huge exporters and their local labor costs had increased. They started looking for a place nearby to ship materials to for assembly by cheaper workers. At the same time China was moving away from communism and setting up special economic zones. These zones welcomed foreign investment and setup industrial parks to attract them. Consequently, Hong Kong and Taiwanese companies started producing Christmas products in Shenzhen. The growth in exports from Shenzhen over the last 20 years has been incredible. About 80% of the factories are owned by Hong Kong companies and the other 20% by companies from Taiwan.

Worker conditions are poor in these factories. The workers toil 12 hours a day six to seven days a week for a monthly salary of $100 to $125. The floors are concrete and little money has been invested into proper work tables, work table height, etc. Many workers are available as they come in from the provinces where they farmed for much less.

Most of these artificial Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths are made from metals and plastics. The plastic material used predominantly is PVC – polyvinyl chloride. When PVC is manufactured it creates and disperses dioxin into the environment which is one of the most toxic man made chemicals. Dioxins enter the food chain through air or water and accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans where they can cause cancer, damage the immune system and impair children’s development. Also PVC is often stabilized with lead which is a carcinogen and also associated with neurological damage. Lead is used in PVC because it makes the plastic more flexible which is beneficial in the wires and cords. It is also used to stabilize the color. Over time the lead in the PVC product can disintegrate into lead laced dust.

Most people purchase artificial Christmas trees and wreaths because they make less mess, they’re cheaper over time and convenient. Consumers should be aware of the dangers of the materials used in these products and the environmental damage done when these materials are manufactured as well as the conditions of the workers producing them. Purchasing fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths is the environmentally friendly choice and it sure smells a lot better than plastic too.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Gathering Balsam Fir Tips for Maine Christmas Wreaths

Balsam fir is used to make Christmas wreaths and Christmas centerpieces in Maine because it is plentiful and makes beautifully fragrant wreaths. The tips of the branches are used which is the end portion. The tips are cut in lengths from 12 to 20 inches. One tip is normally broken into two or three pieces, bunched together and then wired onto the wreath ring.

Gathering the balsam tips is called tipping. Tipping can’t start until late fall after the needles are set which is normally after the first few frosts. After the needles are set the balsam fir tree will stop growing, staying dormant, until spring. The pores in the needles are sealed by a waxy coating that covers the needle’s surface. If tips are gathered before setting the needles fall off in a short time and can’t be used. In Maine, balsam brush shouldn’t be collected until after November 1 with a minimum of three consecutive 20 degree or colder nights.

To gather tips on privately owned forests the tippers have to get permission. Large corporations issue permits with fees for their property. Most wreath producers are very particular about the quality of the tips they purchase. It’s hard to produce a top quality wreath if you don’t have top quality balsam tips to start with. The tips should have needles on all sides of the tip’s stems appearing rounded. They should be a dark green color. They also should be free of any sign of insect damage.

The best quality tips come from the middle of the tree. The branches on the top of the trees oftentimes have long stems and the bottom branches usually only have needles on one side. Naturally, wreath producers purchasing tips are looking for the deep green, rounded tips that come from the middle of the trees.

After cutting the tips are stacked on a stick in alternate directions until the stick weighs between 50 and 75 lbs. with twine attached to the ends for carrying. They are then taken to be sold to the local wreath producers. The tips are sold according to their weight.

Global warming may have an adverse effect on the Christmas wreath industry in Maine if it continues as predicted. As the fall gets warmer and warmer it’s possible that we won’t have the needed frost to set the needles on the balsam fir trees until it’s too late for the Christmas season.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Maine Christmas Wreath Industry

Maine is the largest producer of balsam fir Christmas wreaths in the United States. Millions of wreaths are shipped out every year. Maine’s forests cover over 85% of the state. A lot of this forest is available for harvesting of balsam fir tips which is a sustainable harvest. Only 12 to 20 inches of the ends of the branches are cut and they grow back year to year.

A wreath is made by attaching bunches of the balsam fir tips to a metal ring. The bunches of tips are wired to the ring. The common sizes for the wreath rings are 8,10, 12, 14 and 16 inch. The outside diameter of the wreath is determined by the size of the ring. For example, at Acadia Wreath Company, our 24” Christmas wreath is built on a 12 inch ring and our 30” Christmas wreath is built on a 16” ring. The amount of balsam tips needed for a wreath depends again on the size of the ring. We make very full, double-faced wreaths except for our vehicle wreath.

Our 24” wreath weighs about 6 lbs and our 30” wreath weighs about 8 lbs. A double-faced wreath has the balsam tips attached to both sides of the wreath ring making a much fuller wreath. We have a customer who has us decorate both sides of her wreath because she hangs it on a glass door where it can be seen from each side of the door. This wouldn’t work with a single-faced wreath with the balsam tips attached to only one side. Naturally, the single-faced wreaths are cheaper to make in materials and labor. Most of the major big box retailers sell single-faced wreaths.

The wreath industry in Maine includes tippers, wreath makers, wholesalers and retailers. Tippers (people who gather the tips) sell to a local wreath business or wreath maker. There is a large cottage industry of wreath makers who make wreaths at home and sell them, undecorated for the most part, to local wholesalers or retailers or directly to consumers.

The balsam fir tips are not only used to make Christmas wreaths. Christmas centerpieces, kissing balls, swags and garland are also made. Garland is not a huge part of the industry because wreath makers can make a lot more money making wreaths and so garland is harder to find. Demand for balsam fir Christmas products is increasing every year. It is the most fragrant of all the firs with the smell most associated with Christmas. Also, it’s natural and sustainable and artificial, plastic wreaths are viewed as tacky and they sure don’t smell like Christmas.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Christmas Wreaths for the Birds

Christmas wreaths rival Christmas trees as the two most popular Christmas decorations. Most wreaths are hung as a holiday greeting and welcome to neighbors and friends on the main entry door of the house appearing soon after the pumpkins and corn stalks of the fall harvest season have been removed. Decorations for Christmas wreaths vary from the traditional – pinecones, red berries, deer moss to unique decorations like small handmade crafts made from fabric.

Bird lovers like to decorate their Christmas wreaths with their favorite small stuffed birds surrounded with holly berries that birds love. Christmas wreaths can be made just for the birds or you can recycle your Christmas wreath after the season and provide the birds with needed food during the cold winter months.

If you take your wreath down in January or February you can transform it into a wreath just for the birds. Roll the pinecones first in peanut butter and then in birdseed. Wrap some floral wire around the base of each pinecone and attach it to the wreath. If you have purchased a Christmas wreath from a company like, Acadia Wreath Company, the pinecones already have picks on the base to attach to the wreath.

String a few popped kernels of popcorn together then roll them in peanut butter and birdseed, a treat loved by blue jays. Take a large needle and string clusters of three or four whole, raw, unsalted peanuts in the shell and tie to the wreath. Make sure you use a natural thread like raffia. You can do the same thing with bundles of fresh grapes. Slice apples, pears or oranges and hang them on the wreath. It’s best to leave the strings of peanuts, or fruit short, a couple inches long at most, so they are easy for the birds to handle.

Transforming your Christmas wreath into a wonderful source of food for your birds also provides you with the wonderful pastime of watching the birds as you sit and enjoy your morning coffee. It’s a fun activity to share with the children in your life. Teach them the value of recycling, the wonders of nature right outside the door and the joy of watching birds.

Once the birds have eaten everything on the Christmas wreath you can always put more goodies on or if it’s a balsam fir Christmas wreath, you can recycle the balsam needles. Make a fragrant draft stopper by sewing the balsam needles into a long muslin bag or make a balsam sachet.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

How Popular Christmas Carols Came About

Christmas Carols are sung mostly during the holiday season but most of us find ourselves humming them periodically during the course of the year. They come out of our mouths mindlessly and we rarely stop and wonder where they came from. Most revolve around the birth of Christ but the variety, history and popularity of Christmas carols is fascinating. Two of the most popular songs of all time are Christmas carols.

Silent Night – was a poem written by an Austrian priest, Joseph Mohr, in 1816. It became a Christmas carol on Christmas Eve in 1818 in Obendorf, Austria, a village near Salzburg, when Joseph decided he needed a carol for Christmas Eve services. He gave the poem to his friend Franz Xavier Gruber who wrote the melody in a few hours. It was composed for the guitar which was Joseph’s favorite instrument. It is the most famous Christmas carol of all time.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman - was first published in William Sandy’s “Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern” in 1833. The author is unknown. Most people sing and interpret this song as God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman thinking it means for merry fellows to rest. The rest wasn’t intended to mean lie down but to keep as you are, to stay merry. Rest ye merry means to remain peacefully content and so the true meaning of the song is hoping God will bestow this contentment on the gentleman. Even Dickens misinterpreted the comma as God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman when he refers to it in “A Christmas Carol”. Scrooge didn’t like the carol being sung at his keyhole speaking of merriment. Bah Humbug.

What Child is This - with words written to the melody Greensleeves. It originated in Elizabethan times and is mentioned by Shakespeare in “The Merry Wives of Windsor” when it is played as traitors are hanged.

Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont in 1857 for a Thanksgiving program at his church in Boston. Everyone liked it and so it was repeated at Christmas and it has been a Christmas song ever since.

O Little Town of Bethlehem was composed by Lewis Redner with words by Bishop Phillips Brooks in 1868. The Bishop had been to the Holy Land a few years earlier and was inspired by looking down on Bethlehem from the hills of Palestine at night.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – A twentieth century carol created for Montgomery Ward by Robert May. Montgomery Ward asked May to write a Christmas story to be given out to shoppers during the holidays. May was inspired by the tale of the Ugly Duckling and his own sad youth as a small, shy child and created the idea of the reindeer outcast shunned by the other reindeers because of his bright red nose. He wrote the story in rhyming couplets. It almost didn’t get published because his boss at Montgomery Ward thought that the public would view the red nose as caused by drinking. May eventually acquired the copyright for the song and it was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. It is the second best selling song of all time with White Christmas being the first. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is also a popular Christmas ornament with a festive Christmas wreath hung around his neck.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

Celebrating Advent with Nativity Scenes

Nativity scenes are very popular additions to any household in the advent season. They depict the birth of Jesus. Christian nativity scenes normally show Jesus in a manger, Joseph and Mary in a barn, stable, or shed. A mule and an ox usually accompany them. The scene also includes the three wise men, shepherds, angels and the Star of Bethlehem. The traditional scenes that show the shepherds and three wise men together are not true to the story as told in the bible. In the bible the three wise men arrived after the birth of Jesus.

Nativity scenes are displayed in homes, churches and village greens throughout the advent season. Large nativity scenes with live animals and people are created for advent nativity celebrations. Nativity scenes are called creche’s in European countries.

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with making the nativity tradition popular. In a Christmas Eve service in 1223, he staged a simple reenactment of Jesus’ birth, focusing on the manger. He made the nativity come alive. The idea caught on and manger scenes became more elaborate and took on more cultural characteristics from Italy to France, Germany and Spain. Today, almost every culture in the world has their unique representation of the nativity scene.

A typical French Noel crèche consists of figures called Santons. These figures originally made of wood, wax or clay come in their work clothes to visit the Holy Family. They bring the Christ Child presents they have made or grown, hunted or sold. They perform or offer simple gestures of thoughtfulness. They were a way of bringing religion home after the French Revolution. Churches were being sacked and closed. Christmas midnight mass and outdoor nativity scenes were banned. This forced people to set up crèches in their own homes. The displays became more elaborate over time with the whole Provencal village being recreated. Typical characters of day-to-day life: the fishmonger, baker, flower peddler, vegetable merchant, the mayor, priest, nun, midwife with her cradle, the fisherman with his nets and the shepherd with his cape and walking cane are depicted. The scenery is often developed to include trees, rivers, hills, the entire whole village scene with the focal point being the nativity crèche.

Advent festivities in Italy include bagpipers or zampognari who play old hill tunes in anticipation of the coming of Jesus. These bagpipers are popular in Italian nativity scenes. The Italians traditionally view the many elaborate manger scenes on Christmas Eve. Artisans create detailed landscapes around the manger scenes: small trees, lakes, rivers, grottoes, hanging angels and local heroes. The most elaborate and beautiful nativity scenes are set up in Churches.
Nativity scenes are common in Christian homes today, often displayed on mantles or underneath the Christmas tree. Advent wreaths, advent calendars and Christmas wreaths are also popular for advent celebrations.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

The Increasing Popularity of Advent Wreaths

Advent wreaths are a popular choice for Christian families as they prepare for the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus. Candles are lit and prayers are said on the four Sundays of Advent that precede Christmas day. Families welcome the opportunity to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas and spirituality to their children to offset the overwhelming commercialism of the holiday season and to prepare for the coming of Christ on Christmas day.

The custom of celebrating advent with the advent wreath is said to have originated in Eastern Germany as a Lutheran custom. The advent wreath was made with evergreens. Evergreens live through the cold, winter months and signify strength and are always alive. The roundness of the wreath with no beginning or end signifies the circle of life. It also symbolizes God who is thought to be eternal with no beginning or end.

Advent is the four weeks before Christmas. Advent wreaths are traditionally used to celebrate on each of the four Sundays of Advent. Prayers and readings are said typically before Sunday dinner, or prior to every dinner during advent. A new candle is lit on each Sunday, one candle on the first Sunday, two on the second, three on the third and all four candles are lit on the fourth Sunday. Catholics and Protestants use purple candles for the first, second and fourth candles. The third candle is rose and used on the third Sunday as this day, called Gaudete Sunday in the Roman Catholic faith, is considered more joyous in anticipation of the birth of Christ.

A fifth white, larger candle is often used on Christmas day. This candle is placed in the center of the advent wreath and is called the Christ candle. Many people use four white candles after Christmas day until the feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6th which symbolizes the day the Magi or three wise men brought the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus.

Many families make their own advent wreaths. Craft stores sell wreath rings and wire that can be uses to attach evergreens to the ring as well as the ribbon and candles needed. These same rings can be used to make Christmas wreaths. Christian stores sell many types of advent wreaths from brass plated wreaths to wreaths with artificial greenery. Fresh, fragrant balsam fir advent wreaths can be purchased online for your own use or as a meaningful gift for your loved ones. Keep in mind if purchasing an advent wreath for yourself or others to make sure it arrives prior to the first Sunday of advent which is December 2nd in 2007.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

How the Legends of Saint Nicholas Evolved into Santa Claus

The idea of Santa Claus and the gift of giving associated with him is said to have originated in Asia Minor which is now Turkey with St. Nicholas in 300 A.D. There really isn’t any historical documentation that tells us a lot about him. There are many legends that surround him. It is said that he was a wealthy man whose parents died and left him a fortune which he gave away to the poor and needy. Legends say that he often went out at night disguised in a hooded cloak, to leave gifts of money, clothing or food.

He was very religious and became a monk and eventually became bishop of the city of Myra. A well known St. Nicholas story is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery and prostitution by their father by providing them a dowry so they could be married. Eventually, as his popularity grew along with the legends, he became known as the protector of children and sailors. He earned sainthood status and had a basilica built over his tomb.

St. Nicholas isn’t the only early tradition tying winter holidays with giving that eventually evolved into Santa Claus. The Saxons in Britain around 600 A.D. dressed an actor in a pointed cap, cloak and ivy and called him King Frost. They then extended kindness and gentleness to him in hopes that the approaching winter would be kind and gentle to them. Around 800 A.D. the Vikings believed that their main god, Odin, dressed up as a sage with a long white beard in December and visited earth to distribute gifts to the needy. The Viking followers of Odin changed the portrayal of Saint Nicholas from having a short, dark beard to a long white beard. The Germans had a character they called Winterman who dressed in furs and skins and these characteristics were also added to the portrayal of St. Nicholas.

Over time the European Christians started giving gifts to needy children on the anniversary of St. Nicholas’s death calling it Saints Feast Day. The Dutch nickname used for Saint Nicholas was “Sinter Klaas” which stood for Sint Nikolaas. Children speaking English pronounced this name as “Sainty Claus” and eventually it changed to Santa Claus.

Washington Irving, an American writer, described Santa as a jolly Dutchman who wore baggy pants and rode over the treetops in a horse drawn wagon, smoking a pipe, dropping gifts down chimneys. The first truly American version of Santa Claus emerged in the famous poem “The Night Before Christmas” which was written by Clement C. Moore in 1821. This poem was originally called “A Visit from St. Nicholas”. Moore described Santa Claus as the “jolly old elf, dressed all in fur with a round belly” and mentions eight reindeer for the first time as well as their names.

The image of Santa Claus and the myths surrounding him continued to evolve over time to the modern day characterization we all know as jolly old St. Nicholas who arrives on his sleigh, with Rudolph the Reindeer leading the way on Christmas Eve delivering gifts down chimneys for the delight of children everywhere. Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths, Christmas ornaments, nativity scenes, stockings, cookies and Santa Claus and his elves make the holidays special for everyone.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.

The Yule Log Tradition

The Yule Log today is thought of as a traditional Christmas dessert traditionally made with sponge cake which is rolled, frosted in chocolate and decorated to look like a yule log. Common knowledge of what a yule log looks like has almost disappeared in modern society. The Yule Log was a log at one time that was brought into the house on Christmas Eve and allowed to burn throughout the twelve days of Christmas.

The custom of burning the Yule log is said to be the oldest Christmas tradition which actually started before the birth of Christ. It began as a celebration of the winter solstice in Scandinavia. The winter solstice festivals were called Yule. In medieval times an entire tree was cut down on one’s own property or a nearby property and ceremoniously brought into the house. The large end of the tree would be put in the fireplace and the rest of the tree would stick out in the room. Decorations would be placed on the tree and it would slowly be moved further into the fireplace as it burnt. The Yule log would burn sometimes for a few weeks prior to winter solstice until a couple weeks after. Eventually the whole tree being brought into the house evolved into just a log.

Ceremonies and rituals celebrated with the yule log evolved over time in different countries. The log was thought to bring good luck and offerings were placed on the tree to bring good luck for the following year. Your bad luck and mistakes from the previous year were thought to burn up in the fire. Pieces of the log and ashes were kept to protect the house and fed into the fire the following year to continue the good luck. It was also thought to be bad luck if the yule log went out during before the twelve days of Christmas were over.

The tradition of burning a yule log morphed into eating a yule log when houses no longer had huge hearths and fireplaces. The yule log became the traditional dessert served on the largest feast day during the Christmas season. This is Christmas eve in some families, Christmas day in others. In France, it is served at le reveillon which is the late supper served after midnight mass on Christmas eve and the yule log is called “buche de Noel”.

The popularity of burning logs during the holiday season still exists with the stockings hanging from the fireplace, along with the Christmas tree in the corner and Christmas wreaths on the doors. The meaning of the yule log today is more associated with the dessert but why not eat your yule log dessert sitting in front of your fireplace enjoying the warmth of a burning yule log.

Lynn Jebbia is the owner of Acadia Wreath Company. Acadia Wreath Company, based in Bar Harbor, Maine, handcrafts fresh Maine balsam fir Christmas wreaths, Christmas Centerpieces and Kissing Balls which are shipped directly to customers and corporate clients throughout the United States.