Scandinavian Straw Garland

1.25" x 60"

The tradition of making straw ornaments goes back a long way in Scandinavia, to the older tradition known as The Remembrance of the Birds. On Christmas day, in many Scandinavian communities, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, farmers would give their animals extra fodder and take the last sheaf of wheat brought in during the previous harvest and use it to decorate above all the gates and outside doorways on their farm so that the birds might eat it. In this way they did honor to the birds and beasts that were the witnesses to Christ’s birth in the stable in Bethlehem.