Every year, when Christmas rolls around, there are tons of customs and traditions that we all follow. After all, we carry on what our parents did and so forth. But, what many people wonder, when was it that Christmas ornaments were placed onto trees? Who came up with this idea? And did they have any idea that the world of Christmas ornaments would take off and become its own huge market in which people shop starting as early as October in many places?

Surprisingly, when it comes to decorating trees with Christmas ornaments, this is not a new tradition by any means. While we may think that the latest Christmas ornaments are definitely something new, the act of decorating the tree is not. The first recording of actually decorating trees goes back to 16^th century Germany. However, it is believed that decorating with ornaments and other baubles was actually started in ancient Roman or with ancient Egyptians.

Medieval Folk Culture

Even in there are stories that are talking about the “tree of paradise” that was meant to represent the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps, this may have been one of the earliest forms of decorating a “tree” to symbolize faith and to worship.

While the first Christmas ornaments were not what we think of when we think of ornaments, they were still a vital part of the tree and many families had their own traditions on when they would hang these onto their trees. In the early European Christmas’s, tree were decorated with colorful fruits, sweet treats and even baked goods. After all, there were really no ornaments that they could go out and buy, nor could they afford to do this, so people made good with what they had on hand.

Glass Ornaments

It wasn’t until the 1880s that hand blown glass ornaments were starting to be seen in the US. These were imported by F.W. Woolworth. The idea was to make these glass blown ornaments affordable for everyone so that people could decorate their tree with the latest. Thanks to the success of this venture, people started to use these ornaments on their trees, and it allowed Woolworth to open up several five and dime stores, which carried Christmas ornaments of all types during the holiday season.

Christmas ornaments today are really something else than what they were hundreds of years ago. They have more attention to detail, and just about anything can be turned into an ornament. After all, we see tons of ornaments that are made into princesses, and even those that are slices of pizza! You will even find that a British jeweler made an ornament that was valued at $136,000. This just goes to show that ornaments have taken on their own life in what types you can find, as well as the value of these ornaments.

This year, what type of ornaments will you be using on your tree? You will find that the sky is limit, so use your imagination and go with what you want!

Johns-Christmas