FOR Towns and Villages | A Return to Ourselves, or Christmas Decorations in Covid Times

The illuminated Christmas tree on the Old Town Square in Prague

Demands on decoration in cities are rising, and conceptual decorations are on the increase

Ever since Aristotle, art as a created world has had as its prototype the created world, whose dynamics of tension and release also underlie the principles of artistic creation. The history of art is then a testimony to how the individual fields of aesthetic perception have related to this rule, with varying degrees of interpretation. Some rhythms then suddenly arise of their own accord and live their own life before becoming an example, a measure...

An unpredictable year, with its hopes and its pains, was drawing to a close, and many questions remained unanswered. The meaning of the Christmas message seemed to be rediscovered, and people, groping, asked... The stilling of the mind and humble listening took on a different meaning. The need to bring joy near became more authentic, and to bestow sanctity on hope became a necessity – the time of Christmas was coming.

Many representatives of towns and cities sought a way for people at last to meet and take pleasure in a reminder of life unhindered; many sought a way to intersect time, here and now, with a festival, with something exceptional.

The Christmas decoration was mostly ready by then, in some places still being completed, in others adjusted to the conditions of the current situation. Often, out of the need to minimise gatherings, the operation of market stalls and the form of the markets were modified. The lighting of the tree on the Old Town Square was kept secret until the last moment, yet even with the lighting unannounced, a full square could not be prevented. Elsewhere the ceremonial lighting was filmed several days ahead of the official start of Advent. Christmas lights became a symbol of life and gave themselves back their own content.

In the late hours or early in the morning, most squares were transformed into pictures reminiscent of Morstadt's paintings, and the surrounding buildings lent the Christmas centrepieces a majestic dignity. The truth of the saying about proverbial simplicity, tested over centuries, paradoxically heightened the impression made by this year's decorations in large and small cities alike. Lights can tell their story, they can again be a symbol and complete a festive space.

Much will change; the change of rhythm that is called for will perhaps bring relief, but the natural new aspects of life will give rise to further needs. The world of Christmas decoration will not be much altered by it; the time of covid has merely tested the legitimacy of the demands for balance, taste and sensitivity. Respect for the setting and an appropriate choice of self-expression have been and remain the norm, and perhaps that is why this year's more “modest” tree on the Old Town Square was included among the 21 most beautiful trees in the world and became a natural Prague landmark, like dozens of other Christmas trees and refashioned squares across the country.

Conceptual decorations are on the increase, and demands for individual decoration are growing even in cities. Perhaps they are also an opportunity for our own transformation – not to try to grow up to the sky and to attract attention at any price with needless pomp or excessive ostentation. After all, even lights can tell a story: light against darkness, light as hope... In our conditions, that is the meaning of one of the oldest messages, for which, perhaps more than ever, we are waiting, and not only at Christmas.

Eva Poláčková, DECOLED s.r.o.