the beauty of paaskrans

I have a confession – I like to make things sound grander than they are. My Christmas nativity is my creche. I own Santons, not figurines. My children never made confetti-filled eggs; they made cascarones (and I always rolled the “r”). You get the idea. So when I began spotting Easter wreaths made from natural elements, feathers and broken eggshells, I fell in love. Not only with their beauty, but with their name. Paaskrans. I even researched that word for days, certain I would uncover some romantic history and symbolism. I copied and pasted text from hundreds of foreign articles to translation apps to determine the language, so I could learn more. Okay, not hundreds, but at least ten. 

Finally, I ran into my friends Karen and Klaus (who are Dutch and German, respectively), anxious for them to unravel this mystery. I showed them dozens of photos of paaskrans, emphasizing that their unrefined beauty must certainly be steeped in some folkloric tradition. They studied the photos. They looked at each other. Then I asked, “So, do you know this tradition? And how is it correctly pronounced?” “Easter wreath,” they said. 

Apparently, these are simply trendy spring wreaths seen in Holland and especially Germany (called Osterkranz there.) Both Karen and Klaus remember their mothers making them. 

So for those of you wondering just what the deal is with these earthy, moss-covered wreaths, here are the facts. They are commonly made from grapevine and natural elements. The feathers and broken eggshells (I’m guessing) symbolize Spring, rebirth, and resurrection. They are often displayed on a tabletop. And they are wreaths. Made for Easter.

But in my home, they are Paaskrans.

Here’s my first attempt at making one, and it was actually a quick and easy craft.

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supplies needed:

step 1 – add moss to wreath

I selected an oblong shaped grapevine wreath, as I plan to place this on the center of my dining table (which is also oblong). Using a hot glue gun, add pieces of dried moss to the wreath, giving it a woodsy effect.

step 2 – add bird’s nests

Next, remove the plastic eggs from bird’s nests, then add the nests to the wreath.

step 3 – add vines

Embellish it with few artificial vines or greenery to give it an even more earthy effect.

paaskrans

step 4 – add water picks

Add about 3 floral water picks to the wreath. Fresh flowers will be added later.

step 5 – add feathers

Using a glue gun, embellish the entire wreath with small, delicate feathers.

step 6 – add eggshells

Break several brown and white eggs in half. After thoroughly rinsing the shells, let them dry. To add whole  unbroken eggs, first use an egg blower to remove the yolk. Then rinse and let dry.  This video shows instructions on how to do this. 

If you want to add colored eggs (I added several hot pink ones), use this dye. It comes with clear instructions and gives you the brightest, richest colors.

When dry, glue the eggshells onto the wreath.

step 7 – add fresh flowers

Lastly, fill the water picks with water and add fresh flowers. I used pink tulips and baby’s breath. 

And see how lovely it becomes when a simple vase of flowers is placed in the center.

wreath

There you have it. A beautiful Paaskran. And roll your “r.”

The biggest compliment is a little share – pin the photo below!

paaskrans

Comments · 23

  1. I loved reading your post, Wendy, and the ‘wreath’ is just lovely! I’ll be featuring your post this week at Tuesday Turn About! Pinned!

  2. Amazing and I love how you hunted down history and made this your own. As my first language is “Afrikaans” I immediately envisioned Paaskrans when I saw your link.
    Thanks so much for participating and sharing at SSPS 298. See you again next week!

  3. Wendy, I just love your wreath with the fancy name. It’s so lovely! Thanks for sharing at Celebrate Your Story! Link Party. You’ve been featured this week 🙂

  4. Whatever you call it – it’s beautiful! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s.

  5. Being Dutch the combination of the words Easter and paaskrans got my attention immediately, haha! Sorry you had to discover paaskransen (that’s the plural of paaskrans) aren’t that special in the Netherlands, but I think yours is really, really beautiful and I love the colors you chose for it!

    1. lol! Yes, I did a lot of research to find they were simply Easter wreaths! But I love them! Glad you stopped by.

  6. I love your paaskrans Wendy, and doesn’t giving something a fancy name make it immediately grander!!

  7. Absolutely delightful. I like fancy words too. How I miss Europe and the bluntness of the people there! We lived in Germany for 3 years and the Easter traditions and decor are just lovely.

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