Wreaths or garlands are a traditional Christmas decoration of evergreen plants, arranged in a circlet, and place on a door or wall. It is believed that their use goes back to ancient celebrations of the Winter Solstice, but Christians later associated them with the crown that Christ wore at his crucifixion, and are used at Advent to mark the coming of Christ.
A wreath is quite literally "an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration" or a "ring made of twisted material." The Welsh name Gwendolen and its variants Gwendoline and Gwendolyn -- derived from gwen "white, fair, holy" and dolen "ring, link" -- make an apt choice to reflect the Christmas wreath.
Due to their often being worn upon the head, wreaths are also synonymous with circlet, crown, coronet and chaplet. According to Suetonius, Julius Caesar first declared that wearing a wreath of laurel was a symbol of "the supreme ruler", but their use had already been well established, not only in depictions of the god Apollo but also in the Olympic Games.
The ancient Greeks would gift newlywed couples with a wreath/crown to symbolise fidelity. One myth tells of the marriage between the god Dionysos and the mortal Ariadne. Upon her death, the god placed her marriage crown among the stars, and it became the constellation Corona: the Latin word for "crown" or "wreath". Corona was borne as a name by a 2nd-century saint and martyr, wife of St Victor. The word itself is a borrowing from the Greek κορώνη (korōnē) "garland." Corolla "little wreath, crown" is a derivative Latin term. The Romani name Corauni derives from the Latin, also.
Stephanos is the ancient Greek word for a crown or wreath and was also used as a first name (among many other variations, including Aristephanos, Philostephanos, Stephanikos, Stephephoros and Stephanides). Stephen is the modern derivative in English, while its many continental variations include Esteban, Esteve, Etienne, Stefan, Steven, Stevo and Teppo.
Stephania is the feminine form from which we get Stephanie, Estefania, Stefana and Stepanka.
Ade is a Yoruba name meaning "crown". It can also be found in compound names Adebayo "crown met with joy" and Adedayo "crown turned to joy" for boys and Adeola "crown of wealth" for girls.
Atarah, or Atara, is a Hebrew name that means "crown" and was born by the wife of Jerahmeel in the Old Testament. Kelila means "crown of laurel" and the Hebrew word לִוְיַת (livyah) is often translated as "wreath." There is also the Yiddish Kreine "crown", and the Tahitian Heirani "garland of heaven" and Heiitiare "garland of flowers". The Arabic name Taj provides one of the few masculine "crown" names.
