The wreath has come a long way since its origins with the ancient Greeks and Romans, who crowned their champions with these symbols of triumph and status. For the Celts and pagans, wreaths embodied the eternal cycles of nature, their circular form reflecting the turning seasons and the promise of renewal. In the frostbitten forests of Northern Europe, evergreens represented resilience, their persistent needles and fresh scent offering hope in the dark of winter.

Each year at UU Saratoga, we continue this timeless practice. Twenty members ordered wreaths in advance of our Holiday Fair on Saturday, December 7, and so six of us set out Monday to collect the greenery that would go into them.

Our destination was Sandy Blakelock’s sprawling 70-acre lakefront property at the north end of the Great Sacandaga Reservoir. It’s been in the family since her great-grandfather bought it in the 1930s as the flooding of the area approached.

Like most of the days we’ve experienced this fall, this one was unseasonably warm with a bright blue sky. Under the experienced guidance of Bev Lawson—who has led this tradition for nearly a decade—we got to work.

“Hemlock dries out too fast,” she instructed, pointing us toward white or yellow pine and balsam instead.

Armed with Eric’s gas-powered chainsaw and Doug Hallberg’s compact electric saw, we filled the forest with the buzz of activity and the scent of fresh pine. It took about two hours to fill the trailer not only with the boughs that would be carried down to the Lawson’s basement for wreath-creation, but also the tree we’ll decorate in the sanctuary.

The trip was not an official activity of the UU Saratoga Outing Club, but it ought to be. The simple act of venturing into the woods, gathering greenery, and crafting wreaths binds us not just to each other but to centuries of tradition.