From whence it came…
I dislike the word ‘festooned’. It sounds too much like cartoon, and, in my opinion, is a cluttery word that describes cluttery decoration. But, it’s the right word, like it or not, for much of December Christmas and holiday decoration. It’s even the right word for nature’s seasonal décor. Those who are lucky enough to have a white Christmas will see the snow festoon the trees and eaves of buildings. Residents of the northern climes who aren’t so lucky as to have snow may yet see remaining colored fall leaves adorning branches and blown by wind into lawns and shrubs assembling a reddy-brown festooning of their own.
The natural world spawned the origins of seasonal winter decorations, with trees and greens and berries known to have been arranged in wreaths and garlands across many centuries. The use of wreaths and garlands reaches back further toward antiquity as symbols of victory in the Olympic Games and exchanged during their New Years festival. Many sources and histories abound with references to evergreens and Christmas trees symbolizing eternal life – both from the Christian context (birth of Christ connecting human beings to the eternal) and signified by the everlasting quality of the evergreen.
Similarly lights, once candles now LEDs, hail from multiple traditions and across those traditions generally symbolize hope and the return of the sun after the solstice. Christmas ornaments also trace back to renewal of the productive seasons. Historically people placed fruit and nuts on outdoor leafless trees as a signal to warm seasons to return and resume the growing and fruiting of plants. Eventually trees were brought indoors and decorated with the aforementioned fruits and nuts, but also with other décor. Iterate this literally hundreds of times over as populations increase and differing cultures adopt their take on the activity and you arrive at the contemporary Christmas tree.
Classical Christmas…
Unique cultures and regions have their own distinct variations on traditional winter and Christmas decorations. It’s difficult to pin down commonalities without diverting into the specifics of one tradition or another. Instead of following the rabbit trails of tradition, let’s consider classic Christmas decoration. There’s the Christmas tree topped with a star, angel, or Santa Clause. A holiday wreath, garland, or arrangement of greens is a must. Tinsel or draped chains and strings of things spiraling the tree or lining mantels ought to be present. One or more candles can’t be missed. Finally, oranges, candy canes, holy, and ivy round out the classic Christmas. A classic Christmas can also be enhanced by enduringly popular items like collections of Santas, snowmen, or nutcrackers, little Christmas villages and Nativity scenes, and snow globes.
Modern Christmas…
As Christmas became more secularized and commercialized the breadth of customary Christmas décor has spread and elaborated. From upside-down trees to Krampus parades and Jack the Pumpkin King lawn ornaments to images of Bruce Willis as John McClane popping out of ventilation systems modern Christmas is…eclectic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad everyone’s having fun and gets to enjoy personalizing their experience, and I’m in the camp that believes Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but the blow up (yet often deflated) lawn Santas and Christmas Stars Wars everything has rendered the word “gaudy” wholly inadequate. I don’t hate it, all this modern mix of trying to include everything or trying to find personalized ways to decorate. Really. It’s all pretty entertaining. But, I don’t love it either.
Neither do I want to look at uniform suburban strata council neighborhoods with their same, same, same. Yeah, it’s tidy. It’s nice…I guess. But it’s not interesting. For decorating models, this one is remarkably dull. I so prefer individualism even if it gets odd sometimes. I like to see different takes on a theme. For myself, I’d like to land somewhere in between. Not full retro, not discount super store kitsch, not grandiose, not void of tradition, and not some kind of worship of Hollywood or corporate branding or just the buying and displaying of stuff.
A minimalist Christmas…
This year I’m opting for a minimalist approach to Christmas. I will put up decorations, but with an eye toward focal points and clean lines. This year, just a tree with lights and no ornaments, one greens arrangement, and a candle. I will also set out one container of candy canes and a fruit basket of oranges – both of which I plan to sample from throughout the season. For each of these items I will clear the space around them, removing other furniture items or décor if needed, so that they are the feature and not an addition to the things that are already in my space. Outside I’ll string Christmas lights along the border of my balcony garden. Just nice clean lines.
Putting up decorations can provide an early opportunity for cleaning and clearing. When putting up the decorations I intend to thoroughly clean the areas where I’m working, remove clutter, and consider throwing out or donating items I’m not using. As bits and pieces get shuffled around, it’s also an opportunity for reorganizing and optimizing space. By doing this, I will simultaneously decorate and enhance the feeling of open creative space and breathing room. While my ultimate aim is a cozy Christmas environment, I want it to feel clean and spacious too. I want to create a Christmas sanctuary – a place to be at home away from Christmas chaos but still in the Christmas mood.
Source links…
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/christmas-greenery-history
https://www.westonnurseries.com/christmas-ornaments-origins-history-and-meaning/
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