In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath for the
remnant of his people.
Isaiah 28 : 5
Hello and Welcome!
Here I am doing this, my ninth post in conjunction with a group I
connected with after I began using my Silhouette CAMEO cutting machine last
year.
It’s a monthly post to
showcase projects that members of the Silhouette Challenge Group have made
using these wonderful machines.
You'll find a list at the end here of those of our ever-growing group
who are participating this month, so you can visit them, also!
I’ve always been partial to using Holly in Christmas
decorating. I thought a little
‘education’ as to its significance might be appropriate for those of you who
might be interested in how it came to be of such significance to this ‘Holly-day.’ 8-] First, I’ll let you peek at the tags I made for this
month’s Silhouette Challenge Group Swap.
We were each to make 23 tags. We sent them to one of our members who had kindly offered
to sort and divide them all. She
will then send each of us our self-addressed package back to us and we will
receive 23 DIFFERENT tags – one from each of the others in the Group!! We are all excited to see the creations
of everyone else - Merry Christmas
to US! ;-]
Here are photos of my offering –
 |
| Showing the glint of the Green Sparkle cardstock - |
I inked the edges with Silver. I cut a ‘Holly-Berries Flourish’ motif (not
sure where I got it quite a while ago before I knew of keeping track of the origin of files) from Green
Sparkle paper and added red ‘berries’ made with my 1/4” punch. I then added a red gem flower and a
silver flower center. I then added
Red/White candy-stripe twine for a loop at the top. There is plenty of room for a ‘sentiment of choice’ on the front and more space to write a short note and sign it on the back. I hope these add 'An Elegant Touch...' to gifts all across America!
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| Showing the glint of the Green Sparkle cardstock - |
Holly Education 101 - 8-]
The Holly has been
traditionally connected to Christmas and festivals associated with it for
centuries. Like Christmas songs and trees, its origins can be traced back to
Northern Europe and was actually first celebrated as a plant of great
importance by the Pagans. Its leaves are green with slightly jagged edges,
which may have been part of the reason that the druids used it as a ceremonial
head wear when they went into the forest.
Originally, the holly
was a type of offering that was giving to the God Saturn by the Romans during
the festival of Saturnalia. It was said that the holly was the sacred plant of
Saturn and was thus even more valued by the Romans. All images of Saturn are
depicted with him with the holly. It is also considered a special gift that was
interchanged with a high regard for its symbolism.
At some point the
holly became significant to Christians. At first it was placed within
decorations that adorned doors as a method of preventing persecution. The power
of the holly as a method of preventing unforeseeable trouble was not limited to
the problems that earthly creatures could inflict but also demonic forces. It
was believed that hanging the holly on the door of any home would prevent the
entry of terrifying spectres who were more likely to attack during the holy
days. Soon it began getting more mainstream acceptance as an essential symbol
of Christmas festival. As expected,
the initial purpose of the holly became less recognized by the Christians who
used it in yearly celebrations.
Another part of its
symbolic significance is related to the crucifixion of Christ who wore a crown
of thorns that caused him to bleed from his head. Thus the look of the hollies
is similar to the look of Christ's makeshift crown, and the berries symbolize
the blood that oozed forth from Christ during his darkest hours. The holly is,
subsequently more of a religious symbol for those who subscribe to this metaphorical
depiction of the widely popular plant.
It is typically
separated into two types the ‘she-holly’ and the ‘he-holly.’ Both types can be
distinguished by the properties of the leaves. The ‘she-holly’ is near smooth
along the surface, which understandably makes it more feminine, while the
‘he-holly’ is more prickly and rougher, clearly demonstrating more masculine
properties.
The holly may merely
be viewed by some as a great decorative piece in homes or for use in festivals.
However, its history is significant in the grand tradition of religions and
pagan belief systems. www.ChristmasHolly.net
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I hope you have enjoyed your visit here. If you have any questions, please feel
free to contact me -
Please take a few minutes to visit the other gals who have
contributed to this Challenge Hop today.
You’ll find Lots of Creative Inspiration and perhaps some Freebies,
also, here! Enjoy! ;-]
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Be sure to come back here often as I showcase other Paper
Crafted Projects and Photo Digital Restorations that I make – several days each
week. Sign up to receive my Posts
so you’ll know when I’ve posted something – usually 3 to 4 times weekly. The second Monday of each month is this
Silhouette Challenge - Other days may be other projects!
Check out my Tabs in the Header above to see what else I do
and can do for you! Let me know if
you have questions on anything here – or if I can do anything for You! Have a Great Week! See you again soon! Happy Holly-days to You and Yours!
B’Bye! - Bye! - B’Bye – Bye! –
B’Bye!
(You can take the Gal out of the Sky, but You can’t take the
Sky out of the Gal!) ;-}
