The Rich and Colorful History of the Christmas Ornament

One of the favorite Christmas traditions for many families is the annual trimming of the Christmas tree with the many beautiful heirloom ornaments that are handed down through generations and collected from and for special events. As you carefully place those wire hangers on the branches, did you ever wonder who created the first Christmas ornament and what it looked like? The history of these beautiful and unique tree trimmings goes back many years and has evolved considerably from their humble beginnings.

The First Trimmings

The first Christmas ornaments were hung from trees in the early 1800’s and consisted primarily of fruit like apples and nuts. The idea behind hanging these items from the branches was to remind folks that spring would return again in the not so distant future. Eventually, other types of fruits were added, and trees began to be adorned with paper ribbons and streamers as well as shiny shapes made from metal foil. The idea became to place objects in the tree that would reflect the light, whether the tree itself was illuminated or not.

Glass Decorations

In the middle of the 1800’s, Germany became a major manufacturer of mass-produced ornaments that were created with the express purpose of being used on a Christmas tree. The initial idea of these glass Christmas ornaments was to replicate the fruit and nuts already hanging in the branches, but they soon expanded to include shapes like hearts and stars. In no time, some of the glass blowers in Lauscha, Germany began designing forms for glass ornaments in the shapes of children, animals and saints. The job of making these baubles became a huge industry and a major part of the economy for this area of Germany.

In the late 1800’s F.W. Woolworth, of the Woolworth Five and Dime Stores fame, began importing German Christmas ornaments in mass to the United States. By the 1930’s, a representative of this company along with a New York businessman named Max Eckhardt persuaded the Corning company to use one of its machines that was used to produce light bulbs for creating glass Christmas ornaments as well. Corning agreed, and was soon manufacturing as many as 300,000 Christmas ornaments every day. For many years, Woolworth Five and Dime stores were a prime place to purchase Christmas ornaments in bulk, and even today you will find one of these baubles adorning Christmas trees. Christmas ornaments have been a favorite decoration for centuries, and will undoubtedly continue in popularity for many, many years in the future.