Good Gwreath!
Last night I noticed that Christmas lights had begun to appear on one or two homes around town. Christmas is making its slow but steady run up to the crease. In fact, I’m betting that in less than another week the marketing spin doctors of retail will be working overtime in Santa’s workshop to manufacture a lot more of the Christmas spirit.
I noticed too, doorways now adorned with christmas wreaths made from willow, pine leaves and gum leaves and got to thinking about them. Their history began I believe, based on the diadem which has two origins. Diadem comes from the Greek word ‘diadema’ meaning “a thing bound around.” Diadems were bands of fabric worn to symbolise royalty.
Turbans
So their history in the first instance related to the Ancient Near East, more specifically, the Achaemenid Empire where the use of turbans was subject to very specific rules. Back then, only the king was allowed to tie his turban (“tiara”) in such a fashion that it stood erect” like on the famous portrait of King Darius III Codomannus on the Alexander Mosaic.
Other important men, like the princes of the Persian Royal House and the representatives of subject nations (like those depicted on the eastern stairs of the Apadana in Persepolis), wore special turbans too, which they often tied with a ribbon in a way that is not unlike the manner in which a modern Arab ties his shemagh. In Antiquity, the ribbon, which could be decorated, could indicate someone’s status.
Wreaths or Garlands
A second origin is the traditional wreath or garland, which was used in the Greek religion. Wreaths are already known from Mycenaean times, where sets of golden plates often covered the forehead of the illustrious people buried in the tombs and were known as “funerary diadems”.
In the classical age, several Greek gods that were connected with death and the afterlife were shown with diadem-like objects, they included such ones as: Heracles, Hades, and Dionysus. It was said that Dionysus invented the object to calm the headaches that he was suffering from (him being the god of wine and all). Later, other gods were depicted with garlands too, like Zeus (on Phidias’ statue in Olympia).
The Greek god Apollo is often associated with wreaths, and was a god of life and health. This inspired the Greeks to use the symbol as crowns of victory at the Pythian Games, a forerunner to today’s Olympic Games. The circularity of wreaths was deemed to symbolise eternity or immortality.
Several rulers in the Greek world started to tie golden wreaths around their head, especially during religious ceremonies. These included the Tyrants of Syracuse, Dionysius I and Dionysius II. Syracuse was an ancient Greek city-state, located on the east coast of Sicily. The city was founded by settlers from Corinth circa 735 BC, and was conquered by the Romans in 212 BC, after which time it became the seat of Roman rule in Sicily.
Throughout much of its history as an independent city, Syracuse was governed by a succession of tyrants, with only short periods of democracy and oligarchy (government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military, or religious hegemony). These tyrants were also known to have worn these objects and Persian vestments.
Super Human Status
The exact significance is not known, but the objects suggest that the rulers claimed some sort of super human status and demanded the respect that was also shown to the gods. This is more or less confirmed by the Persian vestments, because by then, many Greeks erroneously believed that the Persian King was considered by his subjects to be divine.
By now, there was hardly any difference between the Greek wreath which had become a symbol of a semi- divine monarchy and the oriental diadem that the Greeks believed to be the symbol of divine monarchy. It came as no surprise then that Alexander the Great, after he had defeated his opponent Darius III Codomannus (330) started to wear a diadem.
Several years later, Alexander granted his friends Hephaestion, Leonnatus, Nearchus, Peucestas, and Ptolemy the right to wear a diadem too. This was in accordance with the eastern practice that allowed important people to tie their hair with a diadem whereas in the west, it implied divinity.
Wreaths are usually made from evergreen leaves as a symbol for the strength of life and because these plants are able to overcome even the harshest winters. They are often made of Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis). Other components often included pine cones, holly or yew symbolising immortality and cedar representing strength and healing.
Wreaths were made with food and candles in the middle because long ago they did not have elaborate decorations. The food was eaten during the dinner parties but prior to the party they were beautiful decorations.
Appropriation
A typical Christian appropriation of the pre-existing ancient Roman custom, a wreath is mostly made of evergreen tree twigs, sometimes with pine cones and or a bow made of red ribbon is a common Christmas decoration. Christian households and churches often used an advent wreath made with four or five candles in preparation for Christmas. They hung it on the door as a symbol for the never-ending love of Christ.
In New Zealand
Here in New Zealand, creative Christmas types use native plants, ferns and flowers. The Pōhutukawa tree (Metrosideros excelsa) considered by many to be New Zealand’s native Christmas tree is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass of stamens. The Pōhutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand.
Maori legends tell of Tawhaki, a young Maori warrior, who attempted to find heaven to seek help in avenging the death of his father. He fell to earth and the crimson flowers are said to represent his blood. A gnarled, twisted pohutukawa on the windswept cliff top at Cape Reinga, the northern tip of New Zealand, has become of great significance to many New Zealanders.
For Maori this small, venerated pohutukawa is known as ‘the place of leaping’. It is from here that the spirits of the dead begin their journey to their traditional homeland of Hawaiiki. From this point the spirits leap off the headland and climb down the roots of the 800-year-old tree, descending into the underworld on their return journey.”
But good gwreath, it’s getting cold outside now … come in, come inside …
