by Jean C. Fisher

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: May 31, 2009

ONE WREATH FOR ALL SEASONS!

The practice of making wreaths probably has its roots in the Mediterranean cultures that preceded the Ancient Greeks. Originally, wreaths were made to wear on the head - hence the circular shape - as a symbol of victory (the laurel wreath) and, somewhere along the line, people began hanging them on or near the entranceway's to their homes - probably as a way to signify that the person associated with the victory lived inside. The use of the laurel (or "bay") leaf wreath probably gave way to the familiar evergreen type we are used to seeing hanging on the front doors of people's homes when the Germanic cultures (and, along with them, the Northern European, mid-winter celebrations of the Pagans and Celts) were assimilated into Western Civilization as a whole.

Today, a wreath hanging on the front door adds a cheerful, homey, welcoming and festive touch to a home at any time of year and many people enjoy hanging wreaths with different themes to match various holidays; however, with all those holidays and seasons, hanging a different wreath for each one presents a storage problem. Who has room to store several different large, bulky wreaths for most of the year?

The problem can be solved by having one permanent wreath base - made from wicker, rattan, grapevines, wood, etc. - and simply adding or removing seasonal embellishments as needed. There is a very simple way to do this even if you aren't a very "crafty" type!

Seasonal Ribbon Garland:

Dividing the year up into seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter and four different color schemes (one for each of them) gives us the start of our wreath decorations. First, determine how long a piece of ribbon will have to be in order to wrap in a loose spiral completely around the wreath "base", then measure and cut two equal lengths of acetate, all-weather ribbon in complimentary/contrasting colors using four basic, seasonal color schemes.

Here are some suggestions for those colors:

Spring: Pastel yellow and pastel pink, light green and lavender, or any combination of two of these colors.

Summer: Red and navy-blue or gold (primary colors) or any combination of two of these colors.

Autumn: Orange and gold, brown and dark green or any combination of two of these colors.

Winter: Any combination of metallics (silver, gold, copper, bronze, etc.) or white and a metallic.

So, on the first day of spring, we would remove the two metallic (winter color) ribbons that we wrapped around our

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