History of Christmas ornaments

Where do the glass Christmas decorations come from?

This is in the 4th century that Christmas is becoming the most important holiday for all Christians of the world. The Christmas tree, symbol of the Christmas by excellence, has appeared just over 400 years ago. Its decoration is the most endearing moment which brings together young and old, in France and elsewhere. Indeed, a few days before Christmas, the whole family install together in the centre of the living space the Christmas three and decorate it with a thousand lights.

But once, how our ancestors decorated their Christmas tree?

They placed it in a wooden base shaped in cross or, for lack of space, often hung it from the ceiling. They decorated it with candles, often by 12 in number, one for each month of the year. These candles symbolize the eternal light of Bethlehem. In addition to the candles, the Christmas tree was simply ornamented with red apples, which symbolized the tree of paradise, but also pine apple, honey cakes, nut shells, gingerbread, and other products natural. There were also widely used, decorations made of straw, paper and wood chips. Eventually, chains of coloured paper, small paintings with Christmas motifs, ribbons and even small rag dolls have been added to the original decorations.

This way of ornamenting the Christmas tree has abruptly changed in the 19th century, following a very poor harvest of apples in Alsace. A glassware of Strasbourg had the idea to replace the apples with glass balls! This idea was so innovative and was greeted with such enthusiasm that all the artisans of the glass in the region adopted it and began to produce it. In the mid-19th century, the glass Christmas balls of Lorraine and Bohemia were most appreciated. It was hand-blown glass balls and hand-painted as we make them even today in our factory in the Czech Republic. Since our glass blowers, wishing reconnect with the past, have taken up the idea of traditional ornaments such as pine cones and gingerbread houses to create glass ornaments using their knowledge.