Imagine you are a child living in the 1960s. You are waiting excitedly for your father to come home – he has gone to buy a beautiful fresh tree for the family to decorate in preparation for Christmas. You love Christmas time, with the presents and songs and wonderful foods, but perhaps most of all, you love to decorate the tree. Each of the decorations has a story, from the decorations which you made with your mother to the beautiful spun glass decorations which depict characters from the Christmas story.
When I showed the children this little Christmas figurine they were somewhat underwhelmed. Children today are used to grand, sparkling decorations for their trees, or simple homemade decorations (which often still sparkle with the ubiquitous glitter!) This simple little pipe cleaner figure was very different to what they are used to today. Many of the children thought the figure was ‘cute, but needs a little sparkle’, and others set out to create their own versions of the simple little person.
Christmas trees and the decorations which are used to decorate them are thought to have originated in Germany though the idea of using evergreens to decorate the home during certain festivals dates back to before Christ was actually born. Originally, the decorations on Christmas trees were simply candles, but in the 17th century other decorations were added. Early decorations were much simpler than what we are used to today though. Well into the 1800s nuts and fruits like apples were used to decorate trees and not only did they make the tree look festive, they celebrated the eventual return of spring (which in the Northern Hemisphere, where such traditions originate, people longed for). Soon paper streamers and shredded, reflective foil were added to the tree as were hard, decorative cookies like gingerbread. Of course, in the end the edible decorations would be consumed.
It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that glass decorations began to become more common. These blown glass decorations appear to also originate in Germany, as do the wooden and pressed paper decorations which emerged at a similar time. Trees began to be decorated in a way which we might be more familiar with today, but such decorations were costly and many could not afford them. Homemade decorations were used instead with strings of berries or even popcorn used in place of tinsel and simple decorations made by hand used in place of the expensive glass baubles. People even used illustrations cut from newspapers as the basis of decorations! It was not until the 20th century, and the entrance of other countries into the production of decorations (notably Japan in the 1920s) that decorations became more affordable. Still, homemade decorations and decorations like the one I showed the children which were merry additions to the tree and relatively cheap to buy remained popular and most households would have at least a few homemade decorations included in their display, even today.