After deciding on a screen printed finish and my types of stock I began to do some research in Christmas symbolism for ideas. I wanted to produce a design that was closely tied to Christmas but that wasn't linked to christianity or any specific religion.
The main categories I looked into were colours, animals, objects and weather related to Christmas, I started with the colours.
Green: Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe- evergreen branches
Red: holly berries, Christ's blood, bishop robes, robins
Gold: Sunshine, light
White: Purity, angels, peace, snow, candles
Blue: Mary, royal (expensive dye in middle ages)
From this category list I was most interested in exploring the origins of evergreens, candles and robins and their association with Christmas. Green, white and red are the quintessential christmas colours and so finding none christian symbols relating to these would fulfil the none religious requirements I wanted for my designs.
To find out about evergreens I went to the site why christmas.
"Holly, Ivy and other greenery such as Mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth."
"Mistletoe is a plant that grows on willow and apple trees (and in garden centres!). The tradition of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient Druids. It is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology and that's where the custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from."
I also used why christmas to discover the origin of candles
"There are many different reasons why candles are associated with Christmas, although no one knows when they first became connected! They were used during ancient winter solstice celebrations a way of remembering that spring would soon come.
One of the earliest records of candles being used at Christmas is from the middle ages, where a large candle was used to represent the star of Bethlehem. Jesus is sometimes called 'the Light of the World' by Christians. This might have started the custom of the Advent Crown and Advent Candles.
Candles are also used during Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of light which is also celebrated during winter. During the eight nights of Hanukkah, a candle is lit in a special menorah (candelabra) called a 'hanukkiyah'.
Candles are also used in the modern winter festival Kwanzaa, where a special candle holder called a kinara, that holds seven candles is used.
Perhaps the most famous use of candles at Christmas are Carols by Candlelight Services. These are services when the church is only lit by candles. Candles were also originally used to decorate Christmas Trees, until safer electric lights were invented!
In some parts of Ireland, it was traditional to have a Yule candle instead of a Yule Log. In Southern India, Christians often put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to celebrate Christmas. Christians in China use paper lanterns to decorate their Christmas trees. Candles are also used as part of the St. Lucia's or St. Lucy's day celebrations in Sweden."
For Robins I used the site uttertrivia.
"In Victorian times the postmen wore a red tunic as part of their uniform. They were nicknamed Robin Redbreasts after the birds. Each postman was a servant of the Crown whose regal colour also contained red. Postal workers often worked over the Christmas Holiday and even delivered presents and cards on Christmas Day. This association earned the Robin with his red breast a place on an early Christmas card and started a popular Christmas image."
Although I liked the idea of candles being multi faith and multi cultural I was hoping to avoid any strong relation to religion and make Christmas designs in my own interests and for the rising number of atheists (like myself) who may not want religious based designs. So from this I decided to develop and produce ideas for robins and evergreens, specifically mistletoe.
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