For sixteen years, our church has held a service of preparation for Christ's
coming, on the First Sunday in Advent, which includes hanging greenery
traditionally associated with everlasting life. Advent is the first season of
the Church Year, and is a hopeful season of preparation, anticipating Jesus'
birth in Bethlehem and the consummation of human history when God is with
us.
Wekiva Presbyterian Church's Hanging of the Greens service was the
brainchild of yours truly and our then Presbyterian Women's President Emma Jean.
My first September at Wekiva, Emma Jean called me and among the things we talked
about that day, she said, "John have you ever considered having a Hanging of the
Greens?" I said, "I have! In fact I have the service here in my files--let's do
it!" So the tradition began.
The Hanging of the Greens reveals the
religious significance of centuries of Christmas customs. It is based on the
Olde English tradition of decorating the church or the home with wreaths,
garlands, a Christmas tree, and evergreens for Advent and Christmas. In a church
setting, it readies the sanctuary (and church members) for the season, and
people of all ages have opportunity to participate.
Greens such as cedar
for royalty, fir and pine boughs for everlasting life, holly symbolizing Jesus'
death and ivy representing the resurrection are used.
I have heard a
number of "origins" stories about Hanging of the Greens. One says that it dates
back to the Druids in England. Several books read as follows: "The Hanging of
the Greens began as an ancient English custom, as part of a pre-Christian ritual
celebrating the winter solstice." Of course, what Christian churches do has a
different and deeper significance than what they might have done.
Some
other references credit the Welsh with beginning Hanging of the Greens, which
may make sense if you think about the Christmas carol that is most associated
with the action of hanging the greens, "Deck the Halls". The
tune for that carol is from a old Welsh melody.
As for here in the
U.S.A., one historian talks about the Hanging of the Greens in 1861 as a
time-honored custom in the Confederacy. Furman University's beloved program
dates to before the merger of Greenville Women's College and Furman in the early
1930s. "The Hanging of the Greens: A Fantasy to Precede the Holiday Season" a
small book by Mrs. Arthur Withington, was published in 1927 and reissued in
1932. Colorado Women's College started their Hanging of the Greens ceremony in
1930. Cottey College also has a longstanding Hanging of the Greens
tradition.
I suspect that the worship service we know traces back to the
YWCA. The YWCA presented a Hanging of the Greens as early as 1915, and by 1918
they were calling it "traditional". The YWCA in Wausau, Wisconsin, holds a
Hanging of the Greens that dates back to 1924 and is ongoing. Their current
website reads, "Held at dusk on the first Sunday in December, the original
ceremony included a nativity play, candle lighting, carolers, and lighting of
the Yule log. Although altered a bit in the present day, the true spirit of this
longstanding YW tradition remains."
Some references credit Frances
Kipps Spencer (1917-1990) at Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia
(the originator of Chrismons and Chrismon Tree) as the source of the Hanging of
the Greens service ( in 1957), as it is practiced in many churches today.
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