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How it all began...
We might ask, why do we decorate our home for Christmas? Well, perhaps because it's so inherent for us to do so, as the tradition has been around for hundreds of years
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W
e might ask, why do we decorate our home for Christmas? Well, perhaps because it's so inherent for us to do so, as the tradition has been around for hundreds of years. And to explore this deeper, we should first delve beyond the commercialization of Christmas, and think about the symbolism rooted in old beliefs.
What beliefs? As the story goes, people in the past used to decorate their homes to attract the spirits of nature, which they believed had fled to avoid the cold and harsh winter.
So, to attract those spirits back, they would decorate their homes with greenery and red berries, bringing a sense of "fresh spring". They would also take branches into their homes to give warmth to the spirits.
In fact, when brought into homes, green trees and the clippings of evergreen shrubs are believed to foster a cheerful and hopeful mood. At the same time, green represents the continuation of life throughout the winter.
But the beliefs do not stop here. Because people thought mistletoe brought luck and harmony, they started to arrange its leaves into garlands - shaping them into circles to symbolize wholeness - and hang them on the entrance of their homes.
The idea was to make guests leave all ill feelings behind when entering someone's house. To make the garlands more attractive, they added red berries symbolizing the blood Jesus shed on his crucifixion day.
As the tradition grew, people started putting up pretty ornaments for Christmas - tinsels, tin balls, small figurines of angels - just to reflect the colorful mood of Christmas.
In the late 19th century, Thomas Edison's assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of Christmas tree lights powered by electricity. And thus the tradition of bright Christmas trees began, which has lived on until today.
Speaking of the right time to put up decorations, people in the past also believed it was best to do so on Christmas Eve and not before.
In fact, bringing evergreens into the house before that date could bring bad luck. Of course, as the tradition of decorating grew and adapted to many cultures, many people stopped buying into those beliefs.
Now, most of us start to adorn our home a fortnight to a week before Christmas Day.
Superstitions have also been dispelled when it comes to taking down Christmas decorations before the 12th day of Christmas, or on the 5th January.
According to the myth, nature's spirits inhabiting evergreens can cause havoc in the home if not released.
Today, of course, we've stopped believing in such tales, and keep our decorations longer, perhaps until February, or 40 days after the birth of Jesus.
- Dian Kuswandini
