'The Grimm' states that 'kranz' is a homemade word although, there appears to be an Old Scottish word very similar to it - crance. Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language credits the origin of their word to something Teutonic to do with hair although there appears to be a related Old French word - crans, meaning 'hair'. It is very strange, both dictionaries point to a possible connection to the latin word - corona, meaning 'garland'.
Wreath is from the OE or Anglo-Saxon as a noun form taken from the verb 'writhe' as something twisted or wound into a circular shape. I wonder why, if both words have a Germanic origin, they are so very different in sound. The third century writer Tertullian complained that Christians should not be putting them on doors as it amounts to demon worship so the wreath has been around for a while. One has to wonder also why it was associated with Christmas; nobody is very clear on this. Perhaps it is a remnant of the 'kissing bough' of Saturnalia.
We now use a mistletoe ball for kissing. Thanks to The Xmas Files by Patrick Harding, an excellent book on the origins of Christmas customs, the proper way to use the mistletoe is that every time someone kisses under it, they have to remove a berry. Once all the berries are gone the kissing has to stop and then the mistletoe had to be burned on the Twelfth Night in case anyone kissing under it did not intend to marry. Now you know.
'The Grimm' is searchable online if you can read German.
Beatles Song of the Week
Saturnalia est,
Et feceratisne quod?
Alius annus finis est,
Et unus novus inceperat.
Saturnalis est,
Spero tu iocum habes.
Tu proximi et tu cari,
Tu seneces et tu parvi.
Habete Saturnalia Beata,
Et Annum Novum Felicem,
Speremus bonum est,
Sine metum.
