How Tree Ornaments Became A Thing: The History of Ordinary Things
What do we know about the trinkets and treasures of the Christmas holiday season? When did all this hoopla happen?
Decorations are mentioned in descriptions of the Roman feast of Saturnalia which originated in the 5th century BC. Evergreen adornments were associated with pagan rituals. They were scorned by the religious until 6th century Pope Gregory, the Great, brought green boughs into the church’s celebrations. Locally available holly, ivy and mistletoe were adorned with candles along with homemade food and sweets.
The modern tree tradition was a Christian ritual from 16th century Germany. Small evergreen trees were used as “Paradise Trees” in church plays. They were decorated with candles, apples, nuts, and berries. Over time, decorated trees were brought into homes during the holiday season.
In early America, circa 1800s, the Puritans and Calvinists had dropped Christmas as a holy season. Christmas observances were seen as inconsistent with gospel worship. Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, and other Protestants regarded December 25th as a day without religious significance, in fact, a day for normal business. This was the era of the Industrial Revolution which emphasized long work hours. Employers gladly discontinued traditional holidays.
German immigrants brought their tree traditions to America in the 1800s. Early ornaments were made of whatever items families had available. It might be fruit held over from fall, nuts, strings of popcorn and cranberries, paper streamers, candles, and metal foil. The German traditions were rejected by Puritanical religious groups for their historically pagan connotations. This began to change as a new understanding of family life and the needs of children appeared by mid-century. Childhood was seen as a time needing greater protection, sheltering, training and education. In this light the season turned toward shops, gifts, home, and holiday decorations.
In the mid-1800s Queen Victoria was depicted with her German-born husband, Prince Albert, around a large, decorated evergreen tree. This created a fashionable trend across Europe. Sears, Roebuck & Company offered the first artificial Christmas trees around 1883 – 33 limbs for $.50 and 55 limbs for $1.00 ($31.22 in 2024).
Inventive entrepreneurs soon realized the ornament’s commercial potential. The Industrial Revolution produced affordable, mass-produced toys, gifts, and decorations, turning Christmas into the decorating festival we know today.
Enter F.W. Woolworth, an American retail mogul, who imported large quantities of glass baubles (balls) and stars. These were being produced by family workshops in Germany. Alongside these came paper garlands, decorative Christmas stockings, and painted tin toys. Tinsel, also introduced in Germany, was originally fine, sparkling strips of silver to catch the light. Later tinsel was mass produced from cheaper metals, and then plastic. Another decorating invention, “fairy” lights, arrived with electric lighting in the 1890s.
By the 1900s, Woolworth’s Department Store was selling $25 million/year in German-imported ornaments made of lead and hand-blown glass. The typical family created homemade ornaments, but the wealthy wanted extravagant sparkles for their festivities.
The annual family outing to cut a live tree for the home was replaced by commercial creations. Do you remember the aluminum trees with foil needles that glistened with the rotating color wheel? They were patented in 1955 and popular in the United States until the mid ‘60s. Today, many have treasured memories associated with special decorations. I remember the squabbling over decorating styles of 7 siblings.
Unique Keepsake ornaments were introduced by Hallmark in 1973. The Keepsake designation created the sense that the decorations had “collectible value.” Under this successful marketing strategy, Hallmark produced over 8,500 ornaments past and present. Special ornaments have been valued up to $300 online.
Dig out those boxes of Happy Treasures. It is that time again!
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