Gardener’s Corner

The first sign of Christmas is the hanging Christmas wreath from the front door of the house. Wreath is an arrangement of flowers, leaves, fruits and few other presentable materials assembled to appear like a ring. Available in different shapes, wreaths serves as an important part of Christmas decorations. The common places to hang wreaths are on the doors, walls and over fireplaces. Traditionally evergreen branches are used in making wreaths. However, these days, wreaths are also available in synthetic materials which have much longer shelf life.

The origin of the Christmas wreath dates back to the ancient times of the Persian Empire. During that time, wreaths were believed to be a symbol of importance as well as success. They were much smaller in size than the present ones and were known as 'diadems'. Only the royal and upper class members of the society used to wear the wreaths as headbands, sometimes along with jewels. It is believed that other cultures became fascinated with this tradition of wearing wreaths and adopted them into their respective cultures. Somewhere around 776 BC, Greeks started placing wreaths made of laurel on the heads of the athletes who came first in the Olympic Games. Very soon, important military and political leaders of Roman Empire started wearing wreaths. One popular example from ancient Rome is Julius Caesar, who used to wear wreath on his head, just like the crown of a king.

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