German-type christmas wreath

[UlrikeR]

Hi all,

 

here is a little wreath I made for our three-year-old. She wanted one just like the one in our living-room, candles and all

She was quite please with this one, though, and really takes care that the right number of (electric) candles is lit.

I cut the stars from felt because the ones I tried to crochet really didn´t turn out too well.

[magiccrochetfan]

It's very cute! I bet your daughter really loves it:)

[KeepsakeKrochet]

Wow that's amazing! You did a fabulous job!

[pineapplequeen]

Very nice!

[spiritwalker]

Its cute and makes your daughter happy. She is learning Christmas

traditions at an early age. We all need to share our traditions. I am sure

she will remember this one for life.

[Tampa Doll]

That is really pretty. Could you explain the tradition of the wreath with the candles?

[grannyannie]

Beautiful!

[tiffer93]

Very nice!

[bigfunfam]

Great idea!

[Monique39]

Beautiful.. Can you tell us a bit about it.. ?

[rscowtown]

oh that is so lovely!

[UlrikeR]

Thanks for your kind replies

 

About the tradition - at the beginning of the season we put a wreath with four candles on the table. Every advent Sunday (four Sundays before Christmas) another candle gets lit.

I love this tradition. It "builds up" to the Christmas tree (we only put that up on December 24th - I know Americans do that a lot earlier). It symbolizes Christ bringing light into darkness

[UlrikeR]

By the way - there is a funny little poem about that:

 

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt

(Advent, advent, a candle is burning)

Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier,

(First one, then two, then three, then four)

Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür

(Then Christmas has arrived)

Und wenn das fünfte Lichtlein brennt

(And when the fifth candle is burning)

Dann hast du Weihnachten verpennt!

(You´ve missed/slept through Christmas)

[magiccrochetfan]

Thanks for your kind replies

 

About the tradition - at the beginning of the season we put a wreath with four candles on the table. Every advent Sunday (four Sundays before Christmas) another candle gets lit.

I love this tradition. It "builds up" to the Christmas tree (we only put that up on December 24th - I know Americans do that a lot earlier). It symbolizes Christ bringing light into darkness

 

I wish that more people here (US) would wait til later to put up trees and other decorations, and leave them up later. It makes me sad when decorations are taken down just a few days after Christmas. people seem to be tired of the holiday by then, but it is because they started so early!

 

Ulrike, how long do you leave your tree up?

[UlrikeR]

The traditional date to take down the tree is January 6th (arrival of the three kings), but some people take it down earlier or leave it up longer

 

BTW, I spent one Christmas with an American family and I loved/still love American Christmas decorations

[imanurse55]

It's beautiful!!

 

We always had an advent wreath on our kitchen table when I was growing up - and then I continued that tradition with my DD's --there were always 3 purple candles and a pink one that was lit on the 3rd Sunday of advent.

 

 

I've cut back on decorations since my girls are all adults now--I had boxes and boxes of decorations and have given them lots of them- in fact I was at my youngest DD's house and it was like a trip down memory lane with many of 'my' decorations now proudly displayed in her home:manyheart

 

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[imanurse55]

By the way - there is a funny little poem about that:

 

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt

(Advent, advent, a candle is burning)

Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier,

(First one, then two, then three, then four)

Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür

(Then Christmas has arrived)

Und wenn das fünfte Lichtlein brennt

(And when the fifth candle is burning)

Dann hast du Weihnachten verpennt!

(You´ve missed/slept through Christmas)

 

Thanks for sharing this poem!!!

[RoseRed]

I don't do the Advent thing (I wasn't brought up with it) but we do light the tree each and every night till Little Christmas. I like to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving but it's been a few years since I actually have. I do leave the tree up for most of January tho.

 

Your Advent wreath is beautiful. I love the safe candles. It's so amazing how much a 3yr old can understand and carry on. I remember when my DD was that age and she constantly surprised me.

 

I think this is a beautiful custom that your daughter will continue. This very special Advent wreath will be loved and used for a very long time.

[Tampa Doll]

Thanks for your kind replies

 

About the tradition - at the beginning of the season we put a wreath with four candles on the table. Every advent Sunday (four Sundays before Christmas) another candle gets lit.

I love this tradition. It "builds up" to the Christmas tree (we only put that up on December 24th - I know Americans do that a lot earlier). It symbolizes Christ bringing light into darkness

 

Thank you for the explination. I thought that was the reason, but I was not sure.

Our tree use to be in the livingroom un decorated till Christmas Eve. Then Santa would decorate it. As we got older that changed. On thing that has not changed, is that I leave up all my decorations till Janurary 6th.

[Peggy85225]

Wonderful.

[tnkycrochetnut]

Thank you sharing the Christmas wreath and advent poem with us. The neighborhood I grew up in in Louisville, KY most everyone was descended from German settlers. I remember the advent candle(s) being lit in church each year. Also a lot of families did not decorate their trees until Christmas Eve or maybe just the week of Christmas. But did leave them decorated until around January 7th or 8th. When I moved to Nashville, TN over 20 years ago I found a lot of people put their trees up Thanksgiving weekend and the day after Christmas they had taken them down and put them outside for the Metro Sanitation Department to pickup. It broke my heart. Nowdays I do notice they leave them up a little longer but not like how it was done when I was growing up.

 

Thanks for sharing your customs. My hubby is originally from Cuba and they did things differently there. The children did not receive gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but on or about January 6th - The Day of the Camels. Families would get together on Christmas Eve and share a special meal. He talks about going to one of his uncle's house who would roast a whole pig in a pit in the back yard. He also tells about how 20 to 25 cousins (when they were little kids) would sleep on this uncle's living room floor Christmas Eve.

[UlrikeR]

Isn´t it beautiful how many wonderful Christmas customs there are? I remember during my AuPair year (which was an eternity ago...) how delighted the children where when I told them to put their boots in front of their doors on the fifths of December - and then, the next morning, they found them full of candy

I think the novelty of it added to the charm for them. I always love to hear about other people´s customs and experiences (and not only for Christmas - there are such fascinating Jewish and Muslim festivals, too, to name only a few).

[tnkycrochetnut]

I thought about the visit from St. Nicholas after I posted previously. I seem to remember him coming on December 6th or maybe we hung our stocking on the evening of December 5th to find it filled on the morning of the 6th. It was fun to find candy, nuts, and fruit it in. After moving here to Nashville, I worked with a girl (who was born and raised in Nashville) whose family also had visits from St. Nicholas. If I remember correctly the other people we worked with (They were from Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisana, North Carolina, Kentucky) but were not familar with St. Nicholas.

[UlrikeR]

I thought about the visit from St. Nicholas after I posted previously. I seem to remember him coming on December 6th or maybe we hung our stocking on the evening of December 5th to find it filled on the morning of the 6th. It was fun to find candy, nuts, and fruit it in. After moving here to Nashville, I worked with a girl (who was born and raised in Nashville) whose family also had visits from St. Nicholas. If I remember correctly the other people we worked with (They were from Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisana, North Carolina, Kentucky) but were not familar with St. Nicholas.

 

I lived in Ohio that year and even though many people there had German ancestors, St. Nicholas was unknown (or let´s say the custom was not practiced). They DID have an Oktoberfest, though (which was obviously better known by them than by me, coming from Germany´s high north )

[sunflowermom1972]

Great job!!