There is a tradition of hanging Christmas tree ornaments, so called glass baubles, on the tree itself. Most of those ornaments are made of glass at least in my household. But do you know the history of hanging them and decorating the house? Let me share it with you:
2000 years B.C. - To celebrate the shortest day of the year, the Egyptians bring green date palm leaves to their homes as a symbol of the triumph of life over death.
500 years B.C. - The inhabitants of ancient Greece bring olive or bay laurel twigs to their homes. These twigs, dressed in white and red ribbons, are hung with figs, wine, honey, oil and baked foods.
500 A.D. - The Vikings and Nordic tribes regard ash, pine and oak as sacred. In their homes, on the days of the winter solstice, they hang conifer twigs or mistletoe trees. This custom is also becoming common in the territories of Slavic tribes.
VIII century A.D. - century A.D. Boniface - a missionary in central and eastern Germany started converting pagans. He cut down an oak, which was a holy tree for the Germans. By falling, this oak destroyed all the trees around it, except the small green herringbone. According to the legend of St. Boniface then said: "You see, this little herringbone is more powerful than your oak. And it is always green, just as God gives us eternal life. May it remind you of Christ."
15th and 16th century A.D. - The oldest mention of a Christmas tree similar to the one we know today comes from 16th century church sermons, from the borderland between France and Germany. The custom of placing a coniferous tree decorated with apples, cakes, paper decorations and nuts in houses is considered pagan.
mid-18th century. - Popularization and evolution of the ancient technique of forming glass in flame and its adaptation to the present day. The contemporary name of this technique is being created: lampworking - i.e. glass forming in a burner fire (in the 18th century in a petroleum lamp fire).
1840 r. - In the Lauscha glassworks in Germany, Hans Greiner makes the first glass baubles for the Christmas tree. According to the legend, he could not afford cakes, apples, nuts or paper decorations and candles, so he formed simple spherical shapes empty inside and decorated his Christmas tree with them.
1841 - the year when the Christmas tree first stood at Windsor Castle in England.
1848 - the first written mention of glass baubles and the use of wooden forms for their production. The new form of Christmas tree decoration is rapidly gaining in popularity, also outside the village of Lauscha, and the production and sale of glass bricks saves the factory from bankruptcy.
Half of the 19th century - many small, family-run craftsmen's workshops were established, where whole families worked on the production and decoration of baubles. Usually it is men who blow and form the shapes of Christmas tree decorations, women with children who decorate and pack.
1856 - In the USA, in the White House, the first Christmas tree was set up.
1860 - The oldest catalog, in which you can find glass Christmas tree baubles (currently in the collection of the Sonneberg Museum in Germany
1870 - Ceramic moulds are used to shape the baubles, and then, in order to obtain a smoother surface and extend the use of the sections, the ceramic moulds are covered with graphite dust.
approx. 1880 - the popularity of glass tiles is growing. The bubbles reach the ocean. The first set of baubles (by Lauscha) is sold in the USA - the price at that time: $25, i.e. (according to
www.westegg.com) is nowadays equivalent to about $594.61.
1923 - in Germany, the first art school is founded to teach glass shaping in a burner fire.
1956 - The German chemist Justus von Liebig perfected the method of silvering glass discovered by him in 1835, which has been extremely popular in decorating baubles since 1867.
1967 - A gas burner is spread, which greatly facilitates and accelerates the production of baubles.
2013 - creation of the first Christmas tree bauble by 3D printing in Creative Multifunctional Facility, in a limited series of 3 pieces.
Topic: The history of glass Christmas ornaments - the baubles (Read 962 times)
