Wednesday 29 November 2017

The Tradition of Christmas Wreaths with Amara - Review

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The Tradition of Christmas Wreaths with Amara - Review

I was asked to review* something Chrismassy from Amara. This was not as easy as it sounds as they have so many wonderful Christmas decorations and gifts. I eventually chose a Robin and Birdhouse Christmas wreath. It is beautiful, a little quirky whilst still being very traditional and it made me wonder about the history of hanging wreaths on doors and how it became a Christmas tradition. So I did a little research (well I Googled it).


The tradition of decorating homes at Christmas started with the pagans. They decorated their homes, and themselves, during the winter solstice. Evergreens were the obvious choice as they were abundant during the winter months and were considered lucky. The more you had the luckier you were thought to be. Pagans would hang evergreens around their home and put sprigs of greenery into their hair. 

It is believed that the Romans started the tradition of hanging wreaths on doors to represent victory. The ancient Romans celebrated the god Saturn during Saturnalia. A festival of revelry, gift giving and feasting during the winter solstice. Christians in Rome didn't want to draw attention to themselves so they continued the old ways and would decorate their homes with holly, berries and other plants available during the winter. With the establishment of Christmas to replace the pagan festivals, holly wreaths came to represent the crown of thorns, and the red berries as the blood of Christ.

The word wreath comes from the English word to twist in a circle. The circular shape of a wreath, having no beginning or end, represents eternity or life never ending.

Over the centuries decorations have become more elaborate, anything goes! We now have tinsel, lights and baubles adorning our trees. Some like to have a modern wreath but I prefer the more traditional. Evergreens with cones, twigs and berries.

The wreath I chose from Amara has all of these, with white berries, frosted twigs, pine cones and sprigs of evergreens all woven into a twisted circle of real twigs.

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The wreath comes well packaged 

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The twigs are frosted and the leaves and berries are so realistic. They are beautifully detailed.

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The pine cones are real and the leaves a mixture of spruce, fir, pine and cedar.

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The foliage is dense and the base ring cannot be seen through it at all.

The evergreen is so realistic that you have to get up very close to see that it is not real. There are so many different types too, including cedar, fir and spruce. I chose this Christmas wreath as it had a little robin and a bird house. I just loved the idea of a little robin nesting in my wreath.

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The robin looking for his birdhouse

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The little birdhouse would be absolutely perfect if it had been made from wood with a little hole; but it is still very cute
I love my wreath, it looks perfect hanging on my front door and I know it will delight us for many years. The only thing I would change is the bird house. I would have preferred it to be made of wood and with a real hole, (for the robin to enter and leave of course!).

Amara have a selection of wreaths from £22 - £550. This Robin Birdhouse Wreath costs £52 and compared to others I have seen is very good value. I haven't seen a similar priced wreath with such realistic foliage.

Do you hang a wreath on your door at Christmas?

*Disclosure - I was given the wreath for the purpose of this post. All opinions are honest and my own.

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8 comments

  1. This is so interesting, I never realised there were such strong links to Paganism or Roman times. How fascinating. We always have a traditional wreath, although this year we have got a more elaborate one with dried oranges, gold ribbon and sprigs of cinnamon attached to it.

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    1. That sounds wonderful. I think I'd hang it indoors so I could enjoy the scent. It must smell so Christmassy

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  2. I love wreaths! I don't know what it is about them but they always put me in a great mood upon seeing them. I had a wreath last year but can't remember if I kept it. I also love to decorate my house during the holidays with as much greenery as possible. I love nature though and having nature indoors is something I cherish:)

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  3. I love Christmas wreaths! I used to like calling myself a Pagan when I was younger, so this was quite interesting to read. We actually put ours up last night, although this one is much more festive than ours! xo

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    1. So many of our traditions come from the pagans. I think I may have some of their blood running through me too!

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  4. This is so interesting!! I never knew where wreaths originated from. I never put one in our door (no idea why) but after seeing this I HAVE to get one for our door x

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  5. So interesting, I never knew any of the background about wreaths! Lovely photos too!

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  6. Wow that wreath is beautiful... we've never actually invested in a nice wreath before for our house but posts like this make me want too.

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