Decorate your home this Christmas

A wonderful Christmas Time

Christmas 2021 is all about feeling nostalgic; bringing back the traditions of yester year and remembering a time of good old fashioned traditions. We go back to basics to find out the true meanings of some of our favourite decorations.

The ritual of putting up your tree and hanging decorations throughout the home is forever instilled in our festive childhood memories.

From handmade projects to heirlooms passed through the generations, a home filled with joy around Christmas starts with magic, excitement and sparkle. I always watched my mother lay out the decorations in the run up to Christmas Day, meticulously placing every bauble on the tree and the wreath on the front door. She knew what she was doing, and she was very good at it. It was as if she was one of Father Christmas’s best elves sent straight from the North Pole. Even now, as I try to recreate the beauty of Christmas through my own style....it is not the same!

The way we decorate our homes over the festive period has been passed down through hundreds, if not thousands of years. And not all Christmas traditions were passed down through religious reasons; some are to celebrate the winter solstice or anicent folklore. Here we delve deeper into the background of some of our favourite traditions to find the true meaning of Christmas.

The Christmas Stocking There are many tales of how the Christmas stocking came to pass. One legend goes that Saint Nicholas tried to help a poor family in secret. Knowing full well that the family would not willingly accept charitable donations, he threw a bag of gold coins through an open window under the cover of darkness and it landed in a stocking that was drying next to the fireplace. This led to the custom of putting out a sock, stocking or in some countries, a shoe at Christmas time for St Nicholas to drop a gift in on Christmas Eve.

Pulling a cracker The first version of the cracter, invented by Tom Smith, had love messages wrapped around sweets which were more like fortune cookies. As the cracker progressed into a much larger mechanism, the sweet was dropped and a ‘bang’ incorporated with little trinkets and gifts added. Now a true staple of Christmas Dinner. Christmas Tree All around Western Europe, from the Scandinavian countries to the

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Celts decorated their version of a Christmas Tree during the winter solstice and Yuletide festivals. It wasn’t until the Victorian age that the idea of decorating a small tree in your home for the festive period became mainstream. Many of the ornaments and baubles originated in Germany. Made from glass, paper and cardboard, these ornaments adorned small evergreens and firs from the first day of advent. A star or angel on top of the tree has more of a Christian symbol; appearing high in the sky to guide prople to the birth of Jesus. See our guide to the perfect time to put up a Christmas tree on page 14

Christmas Lights Candles were first used to decorate the home at Christmas. People used wax and pins to stick the candles to the trees. After the invention of light bulbs and electricity, the first Christmas tree to be lit by electric lights was seen in New York in 1882. They symbolise life, happiness and prosperity for the coming year.

Tinsel Tinsel as we know it in the UK is a fairly modern idea, originating in the post Victorian era. But decorating your Christmas tree with silver and sparkly material dates back to Germany in the 17th Century when it was adorned on the tree as a symbol of wealth; adapting to more inexpensive material as the decades and centuries passed. Tinsel however can be made from material that can be harmful to yourself, your pets and the environment. Alternatives include, making a paper chain to wrap around your tree; cutting stars out of unwanted fabric and even making a garland out of dried fruit and spices.This will not only be good for the environment but also make the room smell delicious!

Wreath The shape and substance of the wreath represent eternal life and along with the addition of a candle during Advent, it symbolises the light that Jesus brought into the world. The wreath invites the spirit of Christmas into the home and the hope of good luck for the coming year. A popular plant over the Christmas perod and also used to decorate wreaths are the holly and ivy, used originally to celebrate the winter solstice and thought to fend off evil spirits into the home.

However you wish to decorate your home this festive season, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in 2022. n By Daisy Bennett

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Long awaited environment act passed

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust welcomed the passing of the Environment Act on November 10, which will help the UK Government make significant progress in tackling the climate and nature crises. Along with other NGOs, MPs and Peers, we have campaigned for this bill for more than three years and look forward to seeing it receive Royal Assent in its current, much-strengthened form.

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