Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Christmas Countdown ...3... Christmas Tree :   The symbolic meaning of Christmas trees actually originates in pagan culture where the evergreen represents life and renewal.  In Scandinavia, decorating evergreens was a practice associated with the Winter Solstice and often brought into homes, as symbols of protection against evil spirits. In many sources, Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer,  has been credited with the first decorated Christmas tree – with candles.  Although this could just be a story, German Christians are known to have decorated evergreens in their home as early as the mid-16 th century.  It wasn’t until the nineteenth century in other countries that Christmas trees became the bright " giving"  symbol of Christmas as we know it. The first Christmas tree in England was set up in Windsor Castle by Prince Albert of Saxony, Queen Victoria’s husband in 1841. Franklin Pierce was the first US president to introduce a Christmas ...

Christmas Countdown ...8...Wreaths have been used as Christmas decorations for hundreds of years, mostly on doors, in windows and over mantles. They are a symbol of growth and everlasting life. Wreaths were usually made of evergreen branches and decorated  with holly, pine cones, fruit or berries, and nowadays are  more than often artificial, with all kinds of decorations. From a Christian perspective, a wreath represents eternal life.