Most of us can't imagine the celebration of Christmas and the New Year without an evergreen Christmas tree and colorful Christmas ornaments. When were the first Christmas ornaments made and where did show up first?
According to history, the first Christmas tree was decorated at Riga city in Latvia, in 1510. First Christmas decorations were candles, colorful paper flowers, real apples, wafers and some other food.
One of the legends says the German glass-blower Hans Greiner who lived near Lauscha in Germany in the 16th century, made the first glass Christmas ornaments for his children. His nice idea was taken by other glass-blowers from Lauscha a bit later. However, some researchers are convinced that the first glass ornaments were really blown in Lauscha in 1847. Anyway, Germany became the motherland of glass Christmas ornaments. And Lauscha became the large centre of manufacturing glass ornaments up to the 1890s.
Germans also began to make homemade Christmas ornaments in the 17th century. The materials used to make them include, empty eggshells, nutshells painted gold, colored paper and some other natural materials.Germany and Eastern Europe had been manufacturing Christmas decorations for small parties for sale since the middle of the 17th century. There were silver wire ornaments, small glass beads, Christmas tree candles and tinsel.
German immigrants brought the tradition of decorating an evergreen Christmas tree with different Christmas ornaments in Northern America in the second part of the 18th century. However, USA only began manufacturing glass Christmas decorations in the late 1930s. The founder of the glass ornament production in United States was Max Eckhardt.
Russia was one of first European countries where they began to produce Christmas decorations. First Russian glass Christmas ornaments were produced by glass-blowers of Russian Prince Menshikov, in his estate, near the town of Klin, Russia in the first part of the 19th century. His glass-blown factory produced glass beads and glass Christmas balls. Menshikov's ornaments were never made in large amounts and were mainly bought for the Russian Imperial Court.
Christmas ornaments and Christmas tree first came to British Isles with Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. However, the tradition spread more in the middle of 19th century. Christmas decorations began manufacture in England in 19th century, but most of glass Christmas ones were imported into British from Germany still.
Manufacturing Christmas decorations on a mass scale began in 90s of the 19th century. And Germany was a leader of manufacturing glass ornaments up to the 1914. German factories exported their glass, cotton and pressed cardboard Christmas decorations to France, USA, England, Russia and other Christian countries of the world. Earliest glass ornaments were simple shapes; glass balls and glass beads. But some time later glass-blow masters began blowing different shapes of glass ornaments, vegetables, fruits, animals, birds, people figures and etc. World War 1st destroyed the German world leadership of the ornaments' manufacturing.
The Czech Republic had launched its own production of glass ornaments in 1920s. Czech's Christmas decorations had been exporting in USA very well.
Japan also caught the idea in 1920s. Japanese Christmas ornaments were very cheap, but not so nice like German ones.
The History of The First Christmas Ornaments