Christmas market, Strasbourg (5226808667)

Weihnachtsbaum mit Kugel und Kerzen 2013

Christmas ornaments, baubles, "Christmas bulbs" or "Christmas bubbles" are decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be

woven Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to on ...

, blown (

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

), molded (

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

), carved from

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

or expanded polystyrene, or made by other techniques. Ornaments are available in a variety of geometric shapes and image depictions. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year rather than purchased annually, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation. Festive figures and images are commonly preferred. Lucretia P. Hale's story "The Peterkins' Christmas-Tree" offers a short catalog of the sorts of ornaments used in the 1870s: The modern-day mold-blown colored glass Christmas ornament was invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the mid-16th century.

History

Invention

Arbol de navidad con adornos de personajes

The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, white

candy cane A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but they also come in a variety of other flavors and colors. ...

s, and

pastries Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ...

in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers.

Glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

baubles were first made in Lauscha,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, by Hans Greiner (1550–1609), who produced garlands of glass beads and

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

figures that could be hung on trees. The popularity of these decorations grew into the production of glass figures made by highly skilled artisans with

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

molds. The artisans heated a glass tube over a flame, then inserted the tube into a clay mold, blowing the heated glass to expand into the shape of the mold. The original ornaments were only in the shape of fruits and nuts. After the glass cooled, a

silver nitrate Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called ''lunar causti ...

solution was swirled into it, a silvering technique developed in the 1850s by Justus von Liebig. After the nitrate solution dried, the ornament was hand-painted and topped with a cap and hook.Ace Collins ''Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas''. 2003; Zondervan.

Export

Other glassblowers in Lauscha recognised the growing popularity of Christmas baubles and began producing them in various designs. Soon, the whole of Germany started to buy Christmas glassware from Lauscha. On Christmas Eve 1832, a young

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

wrote about her delight at having a tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it. In the 1840s, after a picture of Victoria's Christmas tree was shown in a London newspaper decorated with glass ornaments and baubles from her husband Prince Albert's native Germany, Lauscha began exporting its products throughout Europe. In the 1880s, American F. W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha's baubles during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to the United States.

Mass production

William DeMuth created the first American-made glass ornaments in New York in 1870. In 1880, Woolworth's began selling Lauscha glass ornaments. Other stores began selling Christmas ornaments by the late 19th century and by 1910, Woolworth's had gone national with over 1000 stores bringing Christmas ornaments across America. New suppliers popped up everywhere including

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

die-cut fiberboard ornaments which were popular among families with small children. By the 20th century, Woolworth's had imported 200,000 ornaments and topped $25 million in sales from Christmas decorations alone. As of 2009, the Christmas decoration industry ranks second to gifts in seasonal sales. Many silver companies, such as Gorham, Wallace, Towle,

Lunt Lunt is a small village in the borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, close to Sefton Village and to the west of Maghull and is in the L29 postcode. History The name derives from either the Old Norse word ''Lundr'' or the Old Swedish word ' ...

and

Reed & Barton Reed & Barton was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company produced many varieties of br ...

, began manufacturing silver Christmas ornaments in 1970 and 1971. In 1973,

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

started manufacturing Christmas ornaments. The first collection included 18 ornaments, including six glass ball ornaments. The Hallmark Keepsake Ornament collection is dated and available for just one year. By 1998, 11 million American households collected Hallmark ornaments, and 250,000 people were member of the Keepsake Ornament Collector's Club. There were as many as 400 local Keepsake Ornament Collector's Club chapters in the US. One noted Christmas ornament authority is Clara Johnson Scroggins who has written extensively on the topic and has one of the largest private collections of Christmas ornaments. In 1996, the ornament industry generated $2.4 billion in total annual sales, an increase of 25% over the previous year. Industry experts estimated more than 22 million US households collected Christmas ornaments, and that 75% of those households collected Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments.

Post World War II

After World War II, the East German government turned most of Lauscha's glassworks into state-owned entities, and production of baubles in Lauscha ceased. After the Berlin Wall came down, most of the firms were reestablished as private companies. As of 2009, there are still about 20 small glass-blowing firms active in Lauscha that produce baubles. One of the producers is Krebs Glas Lauscha, part of the Krebs family, which is now one of the largest producers of glass ornaments worldwide.

Modern baubles

Although glass baubles are still produced, as expensive good-quality ornaments often found at markets, baubles are now frequently made from plastic and available worldwide in a massive variety of shapes, colours and designs. There are a large number of manufacturers producing sophisticated Christmas glass ornaments in Poland, which produce "'' bombka''" or the plural form "''bombki''"; and millions of glass-blown Christmas ornaments are made year-round in Tlalpujahua, Michoacan, Mexico, and exported to Spain, New Zealand and France. They are also made in Chignahuapan, Puebla, Mexico.

Handcrafted

Handcrafted Christmas ornaments have become a staple of craft fairs, and many smaller online businesses owe much of their success to both the internet and the growth of craft stores.

Sugar cookies A sugar cookie is a cookie with the main ingredients being sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and either baking powder or baking soda (depending on the type of sugar used). Sugar cookies may be formed by hand, dropped, or rolled and cut ...

, popcorn balls, gingerbread and many types of

cookies A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chi ...

can be used as ornaments.

Manufacture of handmade glass ornaments

File:Design of a glass christmas ornament.jpg, Design of a glass Christmas ornament File:Sculpturing to produce a mould for a christmas glass ornament.jpg, Sculpturing to produce a mould for a Christmas glass ornament File:Blowing Glass ornament fabrication Lauscha.jpg, Blowing glass ornament fabrication File:Silvering of glass ornaments Lauscha.jpg, Silvering of glass ornaments File:Painting of a Glass christmas ornament.jpg, Painting of a glass Christmas ornament

Types

File:Christmas bauble.jpg, Bauble, or ball ornament File:Blue Christmas ornament.jpg, Blue glass ornament File:2006 Blue Room Christmas tree - closeup of ornamentation.jpg, Imitation tree snow File:Christmas ornament snowman lights .JPG, Glass snowman ornament File:Christmas Tree Ornament 2006 - 146F.jpg, Red and gold ornamented bauble File:Christmas-Angel-Decoration.jpg, Angel decoration File:Christmas baubles 08 - 01.JPG, Glass Fabergé egg as a decoration. File:Christmas Bears.jpg, Bear ornament File:Christmas tree decorations, Brisbane, 2020, 02.jpg, Straw ornaments File:Crochet Xmas ornaments.jpg, Crochet ornaments File:Welsh Christmas (31768276526).jpg, Cloth ornament File:End the commercialisation of Christmas (6556334049).jpg, Angel as tree top decoration File:Pre-1939 Polish XMAS ornament 03a.JPG, Pre-1939 Polish snowman ornament File:Christmas owl 08 01.JPG, Glass owl ornament File:See through painted Christmas bauble on stand.jpg, Hand-painted glass bauble File:Bombki ze wstazek.jpg, Polish ''bombki'' baubles made with the

kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. The term refers to a wide variety of accessories, including long, rigid hairpins, barrettes, fabric flowers and fabric hair ties. In the English-speaking world, the term is typic ...

method File:Popcorn garland on Christmas tree.jpg, Popcorn garland on Christmas tree File:Stringing lights on Christmas tree.jpg, Stringing lights on Christmas tree File:Wraxall 2014 MMB 07 Christmas Tree.jpg, Christmas tree with

tinsel Tinsel is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was o ...

garland. File:Christmas ornament 1943.jpg, Christmas tree with tinsel lametta (long narrow strips)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Ornament Ornament Ornament Ornament