Christine Johnson here today talking about something many of
us do every year—hang a Christmas wreath. Some years ago I made an artificial
one that I put on my front door every year.
Sometimes I’ll trade it out with a wreath I somehow
inherited—the memory is sketchy on exactly how—but I’m partial to the pine
green and red of a more traditional wreath.
Do you know the tradition behind wreath-making? Their origin
is uncertain, perhaps stretching back to Roman times when wreaths symbolized
victory. In Christianity, the circle of the wreath represents eternity or life
unending. Some believe the Christmas wreath got its start in the advent wreaths
of medieval Germany, adorned with four candles and a fifth in the center which
is lit on Christmas Eve to represent the coming of the Christ child. Others
look to the early 19th century, when evergreen wreaths and crosses were often
laid on gravesites and then brought home for Christmas to add to the
decorations.
In my upcoming Christmas book (and last with Love Inspired
Historical) ,Would-Be Mistletoe Wife,
war widow and school teacher, Louise Smythe, goes on a wreath-making campaign
to brighten the town in the hope of drawing more business from travelers, especially
from Chicago. When the Great Fire of 1871 decimates that city and the area
around her small town, the mission of boosting business turns to one of lifting
the spirits of those left homeless. Since one of the results of the fire is the
closing of the school, she will soon become one of them unless another avenue
opens for her. If only the assistant lighthouse keeper, Jesse Hammond, would
overlook her age and petite stature and recognize that she is fully capable of
becoming a lighthouse keeper’s wife.
Now, it’s your turn. Do you hang a Christmas wreath? Do you
hold with tradition and choose an evergreen one, or do you have a favorite
artificial wreath?
Christine Johnson
Would-Be Mistletoe
Wife (LIH, Dec 2017)
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