Christmas Decorations
When Christmas time rolls around each year, visions of angels appear everywhere. You find angels in lights adorning the exterior walls of homes. You find angels overseeing the Christmas mantle or hovering above the dinner table. Of course, the most popular location to find a Christmas angel is on the top of your Christmas tree. Angels were present at the very first Christmas celebration and they continue to be a welcome addition to our holiday decorating schemes today.
Decorating a Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, and the decoration of the interior of the home with garlands and evergreen foliage, particularly holly and mistletoe, are common traditions. In North and South America and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights, and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures.
The first known electrically-illuminated Christmas tree was the
creation of Edward H. Johnson, and associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While
he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of
today's Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs
especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was
hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the
size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York.
From that point on, electrically illuminated Christmas trees, indoors
and outdoors, grew with mounting enthusiasm in the United States and elsewhere.
In 1895, U.S. President Grover Cleveland proudly sponsored the first
electrically lit Christmas tree in the White House. It was a huge specimen,
featuring more than a hundred multicolored lights. The first commercially
produced Christmas tree lamps were manufactured in strings of nine sockets by
the Edison General Electric Co. of Harrison, New Jersey. and advertised in the
Dec 1901 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. Each socket took a miniature
two-candela carbon-filament lamp.
In the US from the 1960s, beginning in tract housing, it
became increasingly the custom to completely outline the house with
weatherproof Christmas lights. The Holiday Trail of Lights is a joint effort by
cities in East Texas and northwest Louisiana that had its origins in the
Festival of Lights and Christmas Festival in Natchitoches, started in 1927,
making it one of the oldest Light Festivals in the US.
Tinsel and
several types of garland or ribbon are commonly used to decorate a Christmas
tree. Delicate mould-blown and painted colored glass Christmas ornaments were a
specialty of Czech glass factories from the late 19th century, and have since
become a large industry, complete with famous-name designers. Ornaments take
many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs.
Santa Claus is a commonly used figure.
Lighting with candles or
electric lights (fairy lights) is commonly done, and a tree topper completes
the ensemble. Strands of tinsel may be hung in groups from longer branches to
simulate icicles, though this trend has gradually fallen off since the late
1970s. Baubles are another extremely common decoration, and usually consist of
a fairly small hollow glass or plastic sphere coated with a thin metallic layer
to make them reflective, and then with a further coating of a thin pigmented
polymer in order to provide colouration.
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Each person has their own ideas of what their
Christmas décor should
represent. Individuals' decorations vary wildly, typically being an eclectic
mix of family traditions and personal tastes; even a small unattractive
ornament, if passed down from a parent or grandparent, may come to carry
considerable emotional value and be given pride of place on the tree. Trees
decorated by professional designers for department stores and other
institutions will usually have a "theme"; a set of predominant colors, multiple
instances of each type of ornament, and larger decorations that may be more
complicated to set up correctly.
Many people also decorate outdoor trees
with food that birds and other wildlife will enjoy, such as garlands made from
unsalted popcorn or cranberries, orange halves, and seed-covered suet
cakes.
Although much less popular than in the 1980s, fluffy white
flocking is sometimes sprayed on trees before decorating to simulate snow.
While real snow settles in clumps atop branches, flocking is often sprayed all
over the tree from the sides. While this is rather unrealistic, it still adds
to the effect of a wintry fantasy. Flocking can be done with a professional
sprayer at a tree lot (or the manufacturer if it is artificial), or at home
from a spray can, and either can be rather messy. This tradition seems to be
limited mostly to the United States.
Portions of this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Christmas Tree".
Explore more about Christmas Decorations
Helpful Christmas
Decorating Ideas
There is a fine line between festive and flashy and I
have always tried to give my best not to cross it. Thus, I have used for my
Christmas decorations natural items and lights. I am a candle light lover so I
wanted to use it outdoors but I didn't know how.
The Significance of Christmas
Angels
The Christmas angel plays a significant role in the history of
the first Christmas, because it was the angels that originally announced the
coming of the Messiah to Mary, and relayed the good news of His birth to the
rest of the world.
Christmas Décor Is
Matter Of Personal Choice
What makes a good holiday decoration and what
fits and what does not is strictly up to the homeowner. Each person has their
own ideas of what their Christmas décor should represent and most ignore
the color requirements in finding items that appeal to them.
Fun with Christmas
Clipart
When Christmas arrives, everybody thinks of new and unique ideas
to celebrate it with their loved ones. One of these ideas is to use clipart to
decorate a lot of things around which gives a feeling of completeness in
everything. There are many ways clipart can be used, and the best part is there
are so many types of clipart available on market and the Internet that you can
make any customized item you want.
Outdoor Christmas
Decorations Tips
Among the outdoor decorations available, animated ones
are popular, featuring traditional scenes and things such as moving santas and
reindeers accompanied by a sleigh. Inflatable outdoor decorations are also
available in blow up form as santa or a snowman, along with tamer decorative
items like balloons.
Christmas Decorations To Light
Up Your Holidays
With a wee bit of extra time and imagination, you can
do wonders with your Christmas decoration. So it is always a wise thought to
start decorating your home early.
The Birth of Christmas
Lights
Before electric Christmas lights were invented, people depended
upon candlelight to illuminate their Christmas trees. At the beginning of the
twenty-first century, Christmas lights have become a work of art in themselves,
with new ways of displaying their illumination getting invented all the time.
How To Make A Tin Can
Luminary
A tin can luminary is a fun, easy craft project for all ages.
They are great for any holiday and only limited by your imagination! You can
transfer any simple shape onto a tin can to create a beautiful candle holder
for any occasion.
Christmas Reindeer Silhouette
Clock
Make a Christmas decoration that is both functional and decorative
with this festive reindeer clock.
Christmas Stockings - A
Tradition of Celebration
As with many Christmas traditions, there are
legends galore to explain the use of Christmas stockings. Stockings have
changed over the years. Most people don’t hang an actual stocking that
they wear on Christmas Even, but instead they hang special decorative stockings
to be filled by St. Nick.
Christmas Stockings for
Stocking Fillers
Stockings and stocking fillers are an old Christmas
tradition. When Santa Claus went down some chimneys, occasionally small gifts
fell out of his sack and landed inside peoples socks and stockings that were
hanging around the fireplace to dry over night. The owners of the stockings and
socks were happily surprised on Christmas morning to find their stockings
filled with stocking fillers.
Great Ideas for this Years
Christmas Stocking
Hanging up your Christmas stocking can be a fun thing
to do because its always a challenge to fill up your xmas stocking with the
most interesting stuff. Toys, candy and Christmas crackers always make a fine
fit into the average stocking.
Create Your Own Christmas
Stocking Patterns
You can buy a Christmas stocking pattern or trace a
stocking you already have to create a handmade Christmas stocking.
Making Heirloom Christmas
Stockings - Gifts to Treasure
Handmade Christmas stockings are the
stockings that are most cherished. There is nothing more wonderful than making
or receiving a handmade Christmas stocking from a friend or relative. Handmade
Christmas stockings can be knitted, cross-stitched, crocheted, embroidered,
quilted or made from felt, silk, velvet, or other fabrics.
Personalized
Christmas Stocking
Christmas socks are now used as decorative ornaments
for the Christmas season. You can hang them by the fireplace, Christmas trees,
window sills and on our tables. You can buy them in the supermarket and will
come in different designs and patterns. You can also make your own Christmas
socks and add some personal touches using your own creative imagination.
Christmas Decorating
Ideas
The time has come to start putting up Christmas decorations. But,
before you rush off to your local store to buy this years collection of
baubles, wreaths and garlands, think carefully about your decorating theme.
Christmas themes can vary from traditional to modern; elegant to fun; natural
to high-tech etc.
5 Most Popular Styles of
Christmas Ornaments
Over the past few decades, Christmas ornaments have
developed into elaborate pieces of art which are delicately planned out and
placed throughout the Christmas tree. Currently there are many types of
Christmas ornaments to choose from and the creativity and uniqueness of your
Christmas tree will highly depend on the types of ornaments you choose.
Personalized Christmas
Ornament
Creating your own personalized engraved Christmas ornament is a
lovely way for you to remember each year that passes. The beaded Christmas
ornament is fun to make and they look very nice on the Christmas tree.
Decorating Your Workplace
for Christmas
If you are interested in decorating your workplace or even
just your workspace, you will find that there are a number of different ways
that you can go about doing so; ways that can help you find affordable
Christmas decorations or the ones that look the best.
What to Consider Before
Decorating Your Workplace for Christmas
Before you go and start hanging
up Christmas decorations, there are a number of important factors that you
should first take into consideration.
Christmas Party
Ideas
What's a better time to sing, dance and party if not on Christmas?
So be it. Celebrate this Christmas as best as you can, in whatever ways you
want to, with as much fun and friends and make it a celebration to remember
forever!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer® Christmas Town Village Collection
All the handcrafted and
hand-painted Rudolph® Christmas Village buildings light up and your
holidays will shine with your beloved friends, Rudolph® and Clarice, Santa
and Mrs. Claus, the lovable Hermey, Bumble and more!
Free Christmas
Stocking Pattern
Year after year does Santa Claus bring you socks? They
might be a great gift for Santa in Lapland but on the whole they are a pretty
unimaginative stocking filler. Well we have a fantastic idea to turn a boring
old pair of socks into a cute, cheeky, little sock monkey.
How to Safely Display
Christmas Candles in Your Home
Christmas candles can add a warm and
inviting glow to any room, and can dress up your holiday décor before
they are even lit. If you decide to decorate your home with Christmas candles,
you would be wise to consider a few safety precautions.
