It is the holiday season once again. How might visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in our dreams during a blinding snowstorm be a healthy omen? Are gifts beneath an evergreen tree covered in icicles a precognitive message? And, what could the colors red, blue and green mean in your dream?

Dreams are often our subconscious speaking to us with signs, symbols, colors and numbers. Look at a dream’s play on words for its underlying message. What is a sugar-plum fairy and is there a play on words?

A sugar plum is a round piece of candy made of boiled sugar, referred to in Old English as “sweetmeat.”¹ It is anything and everything sweet and wonderful in the world, and the reason choreographer Lev Ivanov chose sugar plum fairies for Tchaikovsky’s music in The Nutcracker Suite’s Waltz of the Snowflakes.² Sugar plum is also a term of endearment like a sweetheart or darling.³ According to Webster’s Dictionary, a fairy is a small mythical being of folklore with magical powers,⁴ like Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell. So a sugar plum fairy might be considered a tiny flitting sweetheart.

The snowstorm. Water in dreams signifies purity, and snow is the change to a new beginning after hardship.⁵ A snowstorm is water drops transformed into frozen crystal snowflakes dancing in the wind. Perhaps a dream about a snowstorm is a spiritual awakening of growth from pure inner awareness.

The colors. Our subconscious minds use color to express symbolic emotions, while our waking minds use it to convey meaning. Colors in dreams, like colorful ribbons, have strong meanings. Colorfully wrapped gifts may represent possibilities and happiness. Most holiday trees are evergreens, and icicles, like snowflakes, are transformed from water. Dreams of gifts under the Christmas tree just may be a positive omen for pure joy.

An evergreen is ever-alive, another play on words for “Tree of Life.” As it does in our waking world, the color green symbolizes life in dreams, while red represents power and vitality, like healthy lifeblood. Although the color blue can express sadness (i.e. “She was blue”), it is also synonymous with soothing peace and tranquility. In dreams, blue may indicate times of rest. Winter, the hibernation season, is often depicted in shades of blue.

So during this holiday season, what might a dream of sugar plum fairies dancing through a blinding snowstorm around gifts wrapped in red ribbons beneath an evergreen tree covered in blue icicles mean? The fairy may symbolize a new relationship. It could point to someone or something endearing or magical dancing into your life in the form of “sweetmeat.” (Oh, you must love that play on words.) Perhaps the dream is a positive omen of life’s transformation, of endless possibilities for love that will gladden you during a time of peace and tranquility followed by health and vitality wrapped in beautiful red ribbons.

May all your holiday dreams be filled with sugar plum fairies!

Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos of Rancho Mirage is a survivor, author, dream expert, speaker, TV/radio host/producer and has been featured on Dr. Oz and The Doctors. Her new book Dreams That Can Save Your Life is available now. For more information, visit www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com.

References: 1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sugarplum; 2) https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_of_the_Sugar_Plum_Fairy; 3) https://wiki.celebrity.fm/what-does-sugar-plum-fairy-mean-48505/; 4) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy; 5) https://thepleasantdream.com/dreaming-of-snow/