Festive Traditions – Wreaths, Candles, and Decorations
Festive Traditions - Wreaths, Candles, and Decorations
The festive period has long been regarded as a special time for loved ones to come together and celebrate. There’s a shared feeling of joy as we come together to spend time with family and friends. It’s a time where special gifts are exchanged, as tokens of love and appreciation, and where time slows as we take the opportunity to relax and enjoy good food and drink. We all love Christmas for different reasons - some love giving presents, some love to feast, and some simply love sitting back and putting their legs up. Whatever our individual reasons, it’s clear that the holiday season is significant to all of us in some way, shape, or form. And one part of Christmas that is particularly joyous for some, is decorating the home with plants, foliage, and festive decorations. For years, plants and natural foliage have been for decorative effect – drawing together colours and textures that evoke warmth throughout the home.
During this time we take the opportunity to embrace connection, and learn to practice acceptance of one another, belonging, forgiveness, gratitude, love. Throughout history, there have been many festive symbols that remain to this day. The long-standing tradition of decorating the home is still ever-popular, and here we look at a couple of much-loved ways to do so.
Christmas Wreaths
Wreaths are incredibly popular during the festive period. Historically a wreath was regarded as a symbol of eternity, and now it still holds that meaning but also offers us an opportunity to create festive decorations with natural foliage. We make handmade Christmas wreaths every year at Forest, sending them far and wide through the community to be adorned in homes and on doors. We use dried flowers, fruits, pinecones and other natural materials to craft these made to order wreaths. Whilst the tradition of hanging wreaths on our doors was popularised in the 19th century, the customary use of wreaths dates much further back to ancient Greek and Roman times. During the Greco-Roman period, wreaths were used to symbolise victory and success, often relating to a military victory or Olympic achievement. Now, it is appreciated as a very popular festive tradition, and one that continues to bring joy to many during this time.
Candles
Christmas Decorations and Tableware
It’s likely that we can all recall fond memories spent with loved ones at the dinner table, sharing cherished family stories and reminiscing about those precious times. Bringing out the festive tableware is not only a warming practice for a lot of people, but also an opportunity to spend quality time with the family as everybody starts to wind down for the festive period. Similarly, decorating the rest of the house with Christmas decorations is a rewarding practice, traditionally using dried fruits, garlands of leaves, dried twigs, and cinnamon sticks amongst many other found materials.
Gift Plants this Christmas
You can fill your home with festive plants as an alternative to decorations. We’ve spotlighted a couple of traditional and alternative house plants perfect for the winter season.
Festive Orange Tree
The Calamondin Tree, also known as the Festive Orange Tree is a beautiful evergreen with glossy green leaves and vibrant, aromatic orange citrus fruits that can be harvested directly from the tree all year round. They are a refreshing addition to any home, offering a festive little nod to tradition, whereby the act of gifting oranges harks back centuries and is often regarded as a symbol of prosperity.
Christmas Cactus
The Christmas Cactus, also known as Schlumbergera, is a charming plant bursting with colour. It is a plant native to Brazil and typically blooms in Spring, however it has come to earn the name Christmas Cactus because of its ability to bloom during the festive period in the Northern Hemisphere. Its bloom consists of cherry red flowers which offers a particularly festive display around this time of year. They are relatively easy to care for and make for very popular houseplants. The cactus plant also produces blooms of pink or white flowers, but even when not on bloom, the cascading stems offer a pretty trail of foliage all year round.
Aglaonema "White Joy"
Aglaonema is a beautiful houseplant with creamy white flowers and little speckles of green around the leaf edge. They can be enjoyed all year round but add a particularly snowy touch to your home during the winter months. They grow wild in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, so they can tolerate certain shady spots in the home although they do like a bit of brightness. White Joy is a wonderful addition if you’re looking for festive houseplants with a less conventional colour and foliage.
Guzmania lingulata 'Francesca'
Guzmania are a type of Bromeliad and another beautiful option for an alternative plant that still feels seasonal, with the ‘Francesca’ variety offering a striking pinky-purple flower that blooms at the top. Guzmania will add a rich, festive colour pop to your home.
