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—Lincatter Farming. Saturday, Nov. 30. 1974
by: Sally Bair
Farm Feature Writer
Lebanon County homemakers were treated to a
bountiful array of holiday decorating ideas at the : ’ annual
Christmas holiday program sponsored by the
County Extension office.'
Mrs. Paul Behler, an accredited flower show judge and
an instructor in flower arranging and handicrafts,
presented a series of decorating “vignettes” which were
designed to coordinate home decorating around a central
theme.
She said it is her opinion that a “few well made
decorations are better than a lot of clutter without a
common denominator.” She said she has spent years
making decorations out of household discards, but
decided to study the origins of some decorations and make
things which are tied together in some way. While she
described the traditions, she also gave much practical
advice on successful, simplified holiday decorating.
She told the homemakers that each of our principal
decorations - the wreath, the swag and the garland - have
meaning from ancient times. The wreath, for instance, is
the Christian symbol of eternity - there is no beginning
and no end. Evergreens were used in medieval times in
dark hallways to keep away evil spirits and sickness.
They are also the Christian symbol of everlasting light.
In her first grouping she chose to feature the ancient
Roman festival of Saturnalia, held from December 17-24.
This was the Roman new year, according to Mrs. Behler,
and the Romans celebrated by decorating their homes,
temples and public buildings. She also chose a celestial
being as her “common denominator” for the group.
A door swag, she said, is the first “statement” about
how your home will be decorated. In her Saturnalia door
swag, she used spruce and a plump angel. She said the
Hebrews pictured angels as being beautiful young men,
but in late Christian art they were depicted as plump
young children. She also used a rose as a continuity factor
in her Saturnalia group.
As the basis for any door hanging, Mrs. Behler used a
coat hanger made long by simply holding the hook and
pulling. She said then the greens are tied in place, but to
keep them from slipping, the hanger should be covered
with aluminum foil. She added, “Everybody has too much
to do at the last minute,” so suggested that the women
makp the swags now and keep them outside until it’s time
to use themrShe said she hides her door decorations under
the bushes and “just wipes off the snow” when she’s ready
to use them.
To keep the greens looking lovely as long as possible,
she suggests conditioning them m a solution of one
teaspoon of fertilizer to one gallon of water. She said the
Mrs. Paul Behler tells about the origins of Christ
mas Customs.
Homemakers Treated To An
Array of Holiday Decorating Ideas
Bacchus, the spirit of revelry, inspired this cen
terpiece.
greens can be kept outside in a bucket in this solution, and
“it doesn’t matter if the water freezes.”
For ivy or holly leaves that are to be used as individual
leaves, she says you should simply submerge them in
water.
In making a kissing ball for her first group, Mrs. Behler
reminded the group that the use of mistletoe was prac
ticed by the ancient Druids to ward off sickness and evil.
Since the festival of Christmas is not just a religious
holiday today, but also one of “merriment, gift-giving and
entertaining”', .Mrs. Behler used Bacchus, the spirit of
revelry and wine, as the inspiration for a centerpiece in
the Saturnalia group. A large wine bottle was placed in
styrofoam on an appropriate support, and was theq,
surrounded with greens, grapes and ivy, with roses used
for continuity. Angles' were also used to carry through the
theme. The use of roses is significant because they are the
“symbol of Messiahanie promise and eternal love”, Mrs.
Behler said.
Victorian was the next mood for which Mrs. Behler
decorated. She said the Victorian mood was “romantic
and modesty was a requirement, whether real or af
fected”. It was also an era in which “the air was clean and
sex was dirty”, according to Mrs. Behler.
Her common denominator for this vignette was the
dove, which she said has long been the symbol of peace.
She also said that the gesture of raising two fingers in a
peace symbol is not something invented by the young
generation, but one which was used anciently. She added
that the Christian religion has always considered the dove
important, having it represent the Christ as a young man
and saying that the cooing of the doves “soothed the Babe
in the manger”.
In her Victorian motif, Mrs. Behler attached an elegant
pencil and pad to her door swag for messages. She also
included a nosegay with a royal blue ribbon and a dove.
In preparing an appropriate centerpiece, she used a
victorian-type white column and bowl, and added a candle
and Victorian cord. “Candles,” she said, “represent the
solidarity of the home and the light of the world.” She said
the custom of lighting candles comes from the Jewish
holiday of Hannukkah, “the festival of the lights”.
In Mrs. Beider’s opinion, there should always be some
decorating done especially for children. She had made a
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very interesting wire sculpture of Rudolph which would
have delighted any child. She told how the people of
Holland, when they migrated to the New World, brought
with them their concept of Saint Nicholas, and how, over
the years “we corrupted it to be our Santa Claus.” Of
course, she said, “we also put him in the North Pole and
soon had him jumping down chimneys.” To her wire
sculpture of Rudolph she added greens, bells, holly and
candles.
Another decoration designed to please the children was
a part of her vignette featuring straw, which Mrs, Behler
said is a predominant decorating material in Europe. She
explained that in Poland, particularly, shocks of grain are
used in the four corners of the dining area at Christmas
time. Children are sent outside to watch for the first star
and when it appears Christmas dinner is begun. Also,
pallets of straw are provided for the children to sleep on as
part of the Christmas celebration.
To work with straw, Mrs. Behler cautions that it must
be made wet for several days to be pliable. She also ad
vised that straw wreaths can be obtained in flower shops
they are the ones used by funeral homes, with the plastic
covering removed. In her Polish wreath of straw, she
placed a fresh, small shock of grain, a star created from
straw and a cornhusk doll.
For the children, she told the story of the “ Jule Nisser”,
a Christmas elf who lives in attics and bams with the
mice. The legend is that the Jule Nisser will do good
deeds at Christmas, and if you feed him porridge he will
sweep and clean your house at Christmas, of course, in the
morning the porridge will be gone. To convey the message
of these good elves, Mrs. Behler created a centerpiece,
beginning with a basket to which she added styrofoam and
attached a small red lantern. She added balsam, mush
rooms - the bright variety with red tops, mice and
fascinating little elves. These decorations can either be
bought or created yourself, Mrs. Behler said.
In her early American grouping, she created a door
swag out of hardware cloth to which greens, nuts, cones
and bells had been added. A large red bow and an old
fashioned slate and chalk for messages made the swag
complete.
She also created bread dough figures which she
displayed on an oven board. These figures can be made
from 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1% cups water. This
should be kneaded about four minutes and when the
figures are complete, baked in a 350 degree oven for one
hour. The dough must be rolled between the palms of the
hand to create the little people. After they are baked, the
figures should be shellaced.
Mrs. Behler said it is also important to include the
“smells of Christmas” in decorating. She made pomander
balls and fagots of rosemary, arranging them in a basket.
She told the women that legend has it that there was a
Mrs. Paul Behler discusses how to make a colorful
swag for a table decoration.
(Continued On Page 35)