Winter Wreath and Remembrance
Symbolism for Solstice, Christmas, New Year and unexpected moments of Life.
We took down most of our Christmas decor after a busy Christmas Day and hard day after. We cleaned, purged a lot of toys and clothes, mourned the sudden loss of our dog and tried to get ready to bring in the New Year by making the most of the time we have together as a family.
I love doing crafts with Katana, and I wanted to make a winter wreath to hang on the door at some point in the fall/winter season. We collected pinecones over Thanksgiving Break and let them dry on the porch until now — not purposefully, we just didn't make the time.
But it seems like things happen when they are supposed to.
Yesterday, she and I collected pliable sticks and dried vines to wrap around each other to form the circular base of a wreath. I wanted to make something to hang on our door in place of the Dollar Tree decorations we took down. Something homemade, purposeful, meaningful. We wove the vines and sticks together as a base and had to stop to bring our dog to the hospital.
He was acting strange and seemed sickly — although still mainly himself. My husband knew something was wrong. After he and Rollo only being gone an hour, he called to tell me that Rollo had to be put down by the days end due to tumors growing all throughout his organs. We got to say goodbye and give him our love… but none of us were prepared for losing him or the feelings that come with sudden grief.
It might seem weird to be writing about a craft and the loss of our dog in the same post. I’m not ready to write solely about him, yet. Or for others. Some things, you don’t share because they are too close to your heart. But I do believe in timing, purpose and symbolism and in those qualities these stories are woven together.
Yesterday was a day of mourning. And, I don’t think that will stop for a long time. Today, I wanted to finish the wreath we started — as a way to use my hands and stay focused on something on than our loss.
I took the woven stick/vine base and used floral wire to adhere the pinecones to it. It looked oblong but wintery. I was happy with how natural and wintry it looked. It then seemed to be missing something so I added small sprigs of rosemary and an old red Christmas bow to complete the wreath.
Sticks
Floral wire
Pinecones
Rosemary
and an old bow
It’s natural, reusable, imperfect. The perfect craft to help you escape into a creative focus. I then got curious. Why now of all times did I make time for this? I didn’t have a vision or look up images, so why did I make it the way I did? Why now?
I think we do things a lot based on intuition and instinct and divine timing, we just don’t notice or try to understand. I looked up the symbolism of wreath making, pinecones, and rosemary. This is what I found, and I think it ties in purposefully to brining in a new year and giving our love to our Rollo:
Rosemary: The Herb of Ritual and Remembrance
“Memory & Wisdom: Ancient scholars wore rosemary to sharpen the mind; it’s linked to clarity and focus
Love & Fidelity: Used in wedding bouquets to symbolize enduring love and loyalty.
Remembrance: Sprigs are left at graves or worn on memorial days (like ANZAC Day) to remember the departed.
Protection: Believed to ward off evil spirits, bad dreams, and negative energy.
Renewal & Fresh Starts: Its evergreen quality represents endurance and new beginnings, making it popular for New Year’s.
The Divine”
Pinecones: Magic and Symbolism
Enlightenment & Third Eye: Its shape resembles the pineal gland, linked to spiritual awakening, intuition, and higher consciousness.
Fertility & Life: Contains numerous seeds, representing new life, regeneration, and potential; also seen as phallic in some contexts.
Immortality & Eternal Life: From evergreen trees that stay green year-round, symbolizing enduring life and resilience.
Protection & Perseverance: The scales protect the seeds, symbolizing shielding what’s precious and enduring hardship
and finally, wreath making is known to symbolizes “renewal, eternity, continuity, and the cycle of life”
Am I reading into things, probably. But, are we all a bit out of touch with intuition, ourselves, the divine, timing… probably. Sometimes finding or making meaning breathes a little more life into the every day.
Here’s to the last days of 2025, to a tight-knit New Year, divine timing and especially our boy, Rollo:
