Page 17 - Giv'er Miramichi Magazine - Christmas-Winter Giver 2024

Wreath Night

By Doug Dolan

Mid-November 1966, I was thirteen years old, came together. They devoured Mom’s clam chowder
sitting in the warmth of my parent’s kitchen. It was the and meat pies while catching up on family and
annual wreath night when Mom and her sisters gathered community news. As wives and mothers, they accepted
to make Christmas wreaths. My brothers and me had hard physical labour, maintained a family budget, and
collected the fir tips a week earlier and deposited them kept their husbands and children well-fed and clothed.
on the cold outer porch floor. This night I brought them Each of them also served as the moral compass for the
into the kitchen and arranged chairs for my aunts in a family.
large circle.
The three sisters, Ovilda, Millie, and Julia, were
starting to arrive. Ovilda, was the first. As a child, she
learned the craft of wreath making and taught her sisters
the art. This night, she came early to inspect the quality
of the tips we had collected. I watched as she picked out
some samples. She looked at me and sensed my
curiosity. "The tips can't be left outside too long after
picking. If they freeze, they won't stay together when
we twist them into the wreath. The same thing happens
if they are left inside too long; they dry out. You did a
good job, Douglas!" she exclaimed. I breathed a sigh of
relief, now proud of my work.
After brief greetings, the ladies threw themselves
into their work. The production began by forming a Making Wreaths, illustration by Terry Matthews
round frame from two metal coat hangers. The size of
the wreaths was determined by using the largest cooking When age and infirmity took a toll on their number,
pot in Mom's collection as a measure. Ovilda assumed the women pressed into service any child who might
the role of curving and bending the steel hangers. She have wandered innocently into the kitchen.
would hand the frame off to Millie and Julia, who Many traditions from previous generations have not
wrapped two layers of fir tips around the edges, using survived the transition to our society today. Fortunately,
rabbit wire to secure them. Rita (Mom), the last person wreath making still brings family and friends together.
in the production line, made a bow from a large roll of Many young people are eager to connect with their past.
red ribbon. It too was secured by wire. She created a Wreath making is an activity where they and older folk
hanger by using a double strand of wire. The completed can gather for an enjoyable learning experience and
wreath was placed into a box, then on to the next. At the leave with a tangible reminder of a good time had by all.
end of the evening, each sister would collect the required
number for her windows at home.
Wreath night was as much a social event for the
sisters as it was a Christmas rite. The women were of
Acadian stock, and a good feed was expected when they
Giv’er Miramichi is published by MCG Media 17