A familiar symbol of the Christmas season is an evergreen wreath hanging on the door. Friends and members of Governor Wolf Historical Society had the opportunity to make their own evergreen wreath during workshops held Nov. 24, 25 and 26 on the society’s campus, 6600 Jacksonville Road, East Allen Township.

The tradition of bringing evergreens into the home began in 16th-century Northern and Eastern Europe. Known as Christmas trees, they were trimmed into the shape of a triangle to represent the Christian trinity. The remaining cuttings from the evergreen trees were used to make circular decorations - wreaths. The wreath shape was also a symbol of eternity, a shape that has no end.

Evergreens were revered because they could survive harsh winters and stay beautiful during the bitter cold, keeping their color for long periods.

Historically, the use of wreaths can be traced further back to even more cultures. Around 776 B.C., the Greeks began crowning Olympic champions with wreaths made of laurel, and the use continued into the Roman Empire, where military and political leaders would also wear them. Julius Caesar is often represented with a crown-like wreath on his head.

The use of evergreen branches may also have been influenced by Egyptian, Chinese and Hebrew cultures. They used cut evergreen branches to symbolize eternal life.

The wreath workshop at GWHS provided participants with an assortment of evergreen boughs, a round frame, decorative bows, assorted dried pine cones, milkweed pods and thistles. No wiring was necessary as the boughs were woven together onto the frame. Although all participants used the same materials and method to make their wreath, every wreath was different.

“There would be no ‘bad’ wreaths, just different artistic perspectives,” organizer and board member Linda Kortz reassured all participants.