A garland is a decorative wreath

Wreath

A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...

 or cord, used at festive occasions, which can be hung round a person's neck, or on inanimate objects like Christmas tree

Christmas tree

The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...

s. Originally garlands were made of flowers or leaves.

Etymology

From the French "guirlande", itself from the Italian "ghirlanda", a braid

Braid

A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...

.

• flower
  Flower
  A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
  
   garland (e.g. "Poo Malai" Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
  :பூ மாலை )
• tinsel
  Tinsel
  Tinsel is sparkling decorative material that mimics the effect of ice or icicles. When in long narrow strips, it emulates icicles. It was originally a metallic garland for Christmas decoration. The modern production of tinsel typically involves plastic, and is used particularly to decorate...
  
   garland
• pine
  Pine
  Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
  
   garland
• rope
  Rope
  A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
  
   garland
• popcorn
  Popcorn
  Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
  
   and/or cranberry
  Cranberry
  Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
  
   garland
• bead
  Bead
  A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
  
   garland
• vine
  Vine
  A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
  
   garland

India

Its a long tradition in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 where flower garlands have an important role in every festival, when the deities

Hindu deities

Within Hinduism a large number of personal gods are worshipped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, Avatars of the supreme being, or significantly powerful entities known as devas. The exact nature of belief in regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu...

 are decorated with garlands made from different fragrant flowers (often Marigold

Tagetes

Tagetes is a genus of 56 species of annual and perennial mostly herbaceous plants in the sunflower family . The genus is native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world. One species, T...

) and leaves. Also fruit, vegetables and currency notes are worn as thanksgiving. Also in wedding

Indian wedding

South Asian weddings are very bright events, filled with ritual and celebration, that continue for several days. They are generally not small affairs, with anywhere between 100 to 10,000 people attending. Often, it is possible that many of the attendees are unknown to the bride and groom themselves...

 the couple wears a wedding garland. In other occasions it is used to show respect to an individual person or statue (murti

Murti

In Hinduism, a murti , or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image which expresses a Divine Spirit . Meaning literally "embodiment", a murti is a representation of a divinity, made usually of stone, wood, or metal, which serves as a means through which a divinity may be worshiped...

).

A Gajra

Gajra

A Gajra is a flower garland which women in India and Bangladesh wear during traditional festivals. It is made usually of jasmine. It can be worn both on the bun and with the braid coiling...

 is a flower garland which women in India and Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 wear during traditional festivals. It is made usually of jasmine. It can be worn both on the bun and with the braid coiling. Women usually wear these when they wear sarees.

Daisy chain

A garland created from the daisy

Bellis

Bellis is a genus of 15 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region and northern Africa. One species has been introduced into North America and others into other parts of the world.-Description:...

 flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

, generally as a children's game

Game

A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...

, is called a daisy chain. One method of creating a daisy chain is as follows: daisies are picked and a hole is made towards the base of the stem, generally by piercing with fingernails or tying a knot

Overhand knot

The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots and forms the basis of many others including the simple noose, overhand loop, angler's loop, reef knot, fisherman's knot and water knot. The overhand knot is very secure, to the point of jamming badly. It should be used if the knot is...

. The stem of the next flower can be threaded through until stopped by the head of the flower. By repeating this with many daisies, it is possible to build up long chains and to form them into simple bracelet

Bracelet

A bracelet is an article of jewelry which is worn around the wrist. Bracelets can be manufactured from metal, leather, cloth, plastic or other materials and sometimes contain jewels, rocks, wood, and/or shells...

s and necklace

Necklace

A necklace is an article of jewellery which is worn around the neck. Necklaces are frequently formed from a metal jewellery chain. Others are woven or manufactured from cloth using string or twine....

s.

There is another popular method which involves pressing the flower heads against each other, so that the final chain looks like a caterpillar.

The term "daisy chain", or "daisy chaining", can also refer to various technical and social "chain

Daisy chain

Daisy chain may refer to a daisy garland created from daisy flowers, the original meaning and the one from which the following derive by analogy:*Daisy chain *Daisy chain *Daisy chain...

s".

Garlands in poetry

Garlands are also used in older forms of poetry like 'Old Meg she was a gypsy' and other older poetry.

A garland is also used in La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats, a poem often analysed for its portrayal of women pre-1914.

In the Bible (English Standard Version), Proverbs 4:9 describes Wisdom as:
"She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."

In the 1913 novel The Golden Road

The Golden Road (1913 novel)

The Golden Road is a 1913 novel by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery.-Background:As a child, Montgomery learned many stories from her great aunt Mary Lawson. She later used these in The Story Girl and The Golden Road....

 by Lucy M. Montgomery a "fading garland" is used as a metaphor for the evening of life or aging in general:
"[...] Did she realize in a flash of prescience that there was no earthly future for our sweet Cecily? Not for her were to be the lengthening shadows or the fading garland. The end was to come while the rainbow still sparkled on her wine of life, ere a single petal had fallen from her rose of joy. [...]" (Chapter XXX).

In the 1906 children's book The Railway Children

The Railway Children

The Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906...

by Edith Nesbit garland is used as a metaphor as well: "Let the garland of friendship be ever green." (Chapter IX).