Wreathmaking

The air is crisp with a morning chill, with little glinting crystals lightly drifting past the edge of the forest on their way to join countless others on the ground below. The world bordering the barnyard is like a black-and-white photo, with hints of dark green from pine and spruce. The chill makes it the perfect conditions for harvesting boughs for this day’s wreathmaking class, as everyone busies to prepare for the Christmas season.

Seeking out the green amidst the black and white and bringing it into our homes is a tradition most ancient. In medieval times, garlands of evergreen and holly were strung in the castle for color and cheer, while others are strewn on the floor, offering their pungent scent with each trodding foot. In the summer, this color and fragrance between gray castle walls would have been provided by flowers and meadowsweet, but in winter, the green reminds us that spring will indeed come again.

Carols reflect this tradition for us:

Then around will come Christmas
The feast of the savior
The beasts in the manger
Will fall on their knees
Green in the cloister and green on the alter
A promise that green will return to the trees.

Some boughs are favored more than others for their distinct characteristics. Balsam is especially fragrant, with flat needles that won’t cut into your skin when handled. The smell of balsam to me is an integral part of the senses of the season, pungent yet sweet, pairing well with the mix of citrus, cinnamon, and almond coming from the holiday kitchen.

Balsam boughs also retain their needles longer than other evergreens of the forest. So, while all needled branches shed, the balsam will hold up best. Hand-harvesting the boughs in preparation for wreathmaking is a pleasant wintertime activity (when you’re not loading it up by the truckload for the wreath factories), and it’s easy to learn.

Balsam trees naturally shed their lower branches as they grow and the lower story becomes too shaded. These lower branches on mature trees have the needles coming out in a horizontal flat pattern. Branches that are not yet ready to be shed will have needles that curl upwards. Harvesting only the flat branches from mature trees doesn’t harm the health of the balsam. And if you choose a cold morning and branches no thicker than a pencil, they will snap easily in your hand, requiring no pruning shears or other tool to wrestle your wreath materials free.

For texture, I also like to add some springs of white pine, snapping lower branches in the same manner as the balsam. The smell is quite different, not nearlysto prominent, and it doesn’t take much to put a little spice into your wreath. Harvest some pine cones from the red pines (letting them dry for a while inside encourages them to open up), any of those neat wild willows that make red berries (if you can find them), and you’re ready to begin making your own holiday wreath.

Of course, today, we still have garland of evergreens. There’s swags, which are double-broom shaped. And now there are even candy-cane swags or pine balls to hang from the porch. But the wreath remains the most traditional shape. Why is this?

The making of wreaths is also a traditional art form, with roots in Celtic culture. The wreath, as a circle, is a symbol of the cyclical nature of the year, reminding us that the earth, sun, and seasons continue to turn as we work to live in balance and harmony with them. In an age when winter famine was a much greater specter in everyday life than we can even imagine today, reminding oneself with a circle of green that spring will indeed come again was an important psychological antidote for the gloom of wintertime.

This understanding was folded into the Christian cycle as part of the celebration of the birth of the Messiah and the promise of peace and salvation for all the earth. Thus we remind ourselves that the winter of human existence is not lasting, and from the dark times comes hope and renewal. And making wreaths with friends or family, with hot apple cider and fresh cookies, is a time-honored way to perk up the spirits, laugh, get pine pitch all over your hands (though I’ve got a trick for fixing that one), and bring added cheer to the season.

Of course, you can go out and buy yourself a wreath, but where’s the fun in that? You’ve missed being out in the woods, with the falling snow. You’ve missed that pungent smell of balsam filling your home as you work with florist wire, a wreath base (which can be made from something as simple as two coat hangers), and creative additions like bows, pine cones, or ornaments. And they make great gifts to friends, family, or neighbors.

Holiday traditions, like making cookies, lefsa, or wreaths, have interesting trails back into our cultural history. Having an indoor Christmas tree is a relative newcomer to the scene, starting in the 19th century. But yet again, the use of the evergreen touches the season, reminding us that even in the depths of winter, we can fill our homes with green.

Interested in learning to make your own wreath? At Farmstead Creamery, we offer open studio classes on various topics, including wreathmaking, which means that you can call to reserve a date and time for a class that works for you. Or maybe this year, you’ll take some time out in your own piece of the beautiful Northwoods to bring home fragrant green, continuing traditional skills that have brought joy to people across the ages.

Happy decorating as the seasons turn towards Christmas. I can smell Kara working on homemade truffles in the kitchen as well—oh my. Holidays, here we come! See you down on the farm sometime.

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