Agenda. The Wishing Tree

By: Ferran Garcés

Today we will talk about a simple activity, but as you will see, it is filled with symbolism. The tree is one of the oldest and most universal symbols. Gaudí even placed it at the origin of his art. “This tree near my workshop; this is my master,” the architect once said at the Sagrada Família (1).

At the end -and beginning- of the year, the tree becomes one of the most popular components of Christmas. It is a remnant of ancient rituals. According to Mircea Eliade, the most renowned historian of religions, the tree embodies the cosmos, life, youth, immortality, and wisdom (2). This is understandable: tree wood was used to build furniture, if not entire houses, in addition to heating them, lighting them, and providing the firewood necessary for cooking food. In the darkness of night, a torch guided the traveler. In the middle of the sea -and even oceans-, a ship offered humanity the means to explore the world. And the list doesn’t end here…

The word codex, referring to the ancient and medieval book written by hand, derives from the Latin term caudex, -icis, meaning “tree trunk.” A 5th-century author, Isidore of Seville, explained the connection between codex, book, and scroll in his Etymologiae (VI.13): “The codex is composed of many books; a book is of a scroll. It is called codex as a metaphor for the trunks (codex) of trees or vines, as if it were a wood storehouse, because it contains within itself a large number of books, as if they were branches.”

In summary, trees have been present not only in homes, in fireplaces, in torches, in ships but also in books. It makes sense that around them, desires, aspirations, and dreams have been formed. Christmas trees are a synthesis of all these traditions, symbols, and meanings, including Antoni Gaudí’s regard for them as masters.

At the end -and beginning- of the year, the tree becomes one of the most popular components of Christmas.

Come on, then! Pick a friend or family member and come to Torre Bellesguard! This month, after the visit, you can participate in the wishing workshop. A simple activity, but as we’ve seen, full of symbolism.

In the workshop, you’ll find everything you need to write a resolution for the new year, place it in a small glass jar, decorate it as you like, and hang it on our Christmas tree. A magical moment to share with the people you love or to think about them. We’re waiting for you!

When?

From December 21 to January 5

For whom?

Young and old, we all have a wish…

Where?

In the old stables of Torre Bellesguard

Price?

Free activity

Notes

Gordi Serrat (December 2020), “El paper dels arbres en l’evolució urbana de Barcelona (1050-1992), Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Geografia, núm. 90, p. 32
Eliade, Mircea (1998), The Sacred and the Profane, Paidós, Barcelona, pp. 110-111