Seeing God in Christmas Decorations

In my quest to search for more of God this Advent Season, I decided to do a little research on Christmas decorations. Not surprisingly, many were created as reminders that Jesus really is the reason for the season. Here’s some of the cool facts I learned.

This holly bush has red berries and thorns.

In the 15th century, in London, churches and homes were decked with holm (a type of tree), ivy, bays, holly and anything that was green. The heart-shaped leaves of ivy were supposed to represent Jesus coming to earth. The holly thorns are said to represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore during the crucifixion and the red berries represented the blood Jesus shed for us.

Candles in each window is an old Irish tradition. It is a sign of welcome in remembrance that Mary and Joseph could find no place to stay when it was time for Jesus’ birth. Candles in windows can also represent Jesus as being the light of the world.

The first Nativity Scene was actually created by St. Francis of Assisi. (He was also the guy who was so good with animals.) The story goes that he got permission from the Pope at the time, to set up a live scene in a cave in a small Italian village, with a manger, straw and two animals. He invited local villagers in and preached the Nativity Story. It was such a hit with the people, that Nativity re-creations spread like wildfire and within a couple of centuries they were all over Europe.

All Masses at the time were preached in Latin. Most of the common people didn’t understand Latin. St. Francis found a way to make the birth story real to them. Just one man, trying to communicate God’s love to others and look what he started! Do you have a nativity set in your home? Say a special prayer of thanks for St. Francis of Assisi.

The wreath is a never-ending circle.

Wreaths are circles. Circles have no end so they are supposed to represent the  everlasting life that we have in Jesus. They are also usually made of evergreen which also represents everlasting life. The traditional Christmas colors are red, green, and gold. Red represents the blood of Christ. Green represents eternal life and gold represents the gift of gold from one of the three Magi who visited Jesus.

The Christmas holiday has become very commercial. Remembering the true meaning behind some of our common decor helps me keep the Christ in Christmas. I’m sure there is disagreement about some of these traditions and some may have started out as pagan like the Christmas tree, but my Christmas tree has stars, angels, the Baby Jesus and churches on it. There’s nothing pagan about that!

The truth is, if we look for God, we will find Him. We can see Him in all sorts of places. Why not start with Christmas decorations? What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂