when, and how did the christmas wreath first come about, and what does it symbolize?

Answer 1

Christmas wreaths and the yule log are part of the winter celebration of the Winter Solstice. Essentially they are both a part of the pagan religion that have been incorporated into the celebration of Christmas. During the time of early Christianity, the cities became Christian first. The people in the country were called pagans and still celebrated the winter solstice. The term pagan means country in Latin. The people out in the country were the last to be converted. The same thing happened with the pagan celebration of spring which was celebrated with Easter eggs and baby animals each of which celebrates new life. Hence at Easter time the pagan idea was incorporated into the celebration with the coloring of Easter eggs and the representation of chicks and bunnies. So the wreaths, the yule log, eggs, and chicks are all carryovers from antiquity.

Answer 2

Yeah, Just what the last person said, but also, pagens put up wreaths to show they were NOT Christian and were not participating in the Christian celebration of Christmas. Go figure...Now they are part of the whole thing, even churches put them up.