Every December, celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa lend pageantry and significance to this time of the year. But making our tables look festive, but suitably meaningful, can be more of a trial than we expect.
Fortunately, these holidays have very identifiable elements that are related to the rituals that surround them. So for each one, it is possible to build on some simple basics to dress a table with substance and style.
For instance, the colors of Christmas are red, which represents warmth and brightness, while green symbolizes the promise that the leaves will eventually return to bare trees. And the Christmas tree, a Protestant idea born of the Reformation in Germany, was devised to take the place of saints and human statues.
Central to the observance of Hanukkah, which starts Dec. 3 this year, is a candle-lighting ceremony that uses a special menorah, called a Hanukkiah. It commemorates the miracle that took place when the ancient Maccabees rededicated the temple in Jerusalem after a military victory. A day’s worth of sanctified oil for the temple’s eternal light lasted eight days and nights. Blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, often show up in Hanukkah celebrations.
And Kwanzaa, which begins the day after Christmas, is a seven-day family observance of African-American identity. Each night a candle is lit to represent one of seven principles, such as self-determination and faith. The candles often are colored green for abundance, red for suffering or black for racial unity.
Just focusing on these precepts gives us some material to work with to blend substance and style on our tables.
———-
Resources
Christmas: Celebration dinner service, $195 a five-piece place setting, at Tiffany & Co.; Provence silver, $435 for a four-piece place setting, at Tiffany & Co.; Carl Rotter Lobeck crystal tumbler, $145, at Elements, Chicago; red damask napkin, $40, at Elements; Melrose House table, $5,400, at Holly Hunt Ltd., Merchandise Mart.
Kwanzaa (clockwise from top): Christian Liaigre mahogany trays,$500 to $862 each, at Holly Hunt Ltd., Merchandise Mart; wooden napkin rings embellished with metal animals, $56 each, at Material Possessions, Chicago; horn serving set, $94, at Material Possessions; pillar candles, $5 to $38 each, at Banana Republic; Wainwright bowl and plate, $58 each, at Material Possessions; linen napkin, $12 each, at Banana Republic; and Union Street gold-stemmed goblet, $56, at Material Possessions. Other accessories available at Holly Hunt.
Hanukkah: Christofle Hanukkiah, $585; Mikasa Mystic charger, $19.99; Calvin Klein dinner plate, $155 for a five-piece place setting; Lenox salad/dessert plate, $32; Calvin Klein silver-plated bowl, $40; and silver napkins, $35 for a set of four, all at Marshall Field’s; Silverplate utensils, $58 a five-piece place setting, Banana Republic; and Smyers cobalt crystal goblets, $62 each, Material Possessions, Chicago.
