Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. Over December we’ve looked at the words nutcracker, bauble, mistletoe, and stocking. Though Christmas might be over, there are still a few days left to enjoy the festive decorations and, with that in mind, our final word of the month is poinsettia. A poinsettia is a small shrub with scarlet petal-like leaves. The star-shaped leaves symbolise the star of Bethlehem and their blood red colour symbolises Christ’s sacrifice. The story of the poinse...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. So far this month, we’ve looked at the words nutcracker, bauble, and mistletoe. With Christmas Eve just days away, what else could we choose for this week’s word but stocking? Stockings are long socks which are hung up by children on Christmas Eve in the hope that they will be filled with gifts. There is no record of the origin of this tradition and even today different households have different gift-giving rituals. In some families, stockings are filled e...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. So far, we’ve looked at the words nutcracker and bauble. Today’s word is mistletoe. Mistletoe is a plant with green leathery leaves that grows on trees including apples and oaks. In the winter, the mistletoe plant produces white berries. Though poisonous, mistletoe is often used to decorate with at Christmas time. The tradition of kissing under a mistletoe branch is attributed to servants in late-eighteenth-century England. In some versi...
Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is Christmas decorations. A decoration is something that is used to beautify a space. The word comes from the Latin ‘decorare’. Last week we looked at the word nutcracker and this week's Christmas decoration is bauble. A bauble is brightly coloured glass or plastic orb that is hung on a Christmas tree and catches and reflects the lights in a room. Today, it is common for people to buy or make baubles that are personalised with names, special dates, or photos. The word also means trinket or toy. Bauble dates to the early-fourteenth century and comes from the...
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