The History of Christmas Ornaments, Lights, And Christmas Trees

Christmas Tree: The story is that during the 7th century, a monk traveled to Germany to spread God's word. The monk offered a tree to the first village he came to, explaining that its triangular shape represented God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This first 'Christmas tree' was decorated with small, white candles.

In the 1600's, people began to add tinsel as a decoration. When the Idea of Christmas trees spread to England, they began to decorate their trees with glass beads and snowflakes. By the 1800's, America was introduced to this decorating Idea. It wasn't until years after WWII that that real lighted Christmas trees, by then either with candles or electricity, turned into a tradition in the United States.

Christmas lights: Even before electricity, Christmas was associated with light and guidance, so candles were a popular way to decorate during the holidays. There were candle holders designed specifically to attach to the branches of a Christmas tree, so the family or town Christmas tree could be lit up with many beautiful glowing flames.

Today's Christmas lights stem from Edward Johnson's 1882 Christmas tree. He was a friend of Thomas Edison, and decided to put the power of electricity to use for festive purposes. After his small rotating tree lit up by red, white, and blue electric bulbs, the idea began to develop into what we have today.

Ornaments: At one point in time, all ornaments had to be crafted with glass, or otherwise made from edible objects. Europeans originally marketed glass ornaments to be hung on a Christmas tree or wreaths. Christmas trees were decorated with cranberries, popcorn, or gingerbread during the pioneer days. With the invention of plastics in America, more affordable and durable ornaments became available.

Candy Cane: A German choir director used to give mint sticks to his students when they behaved well. Sometime during its development as a Christmas tradition, the candy cane took on a curve-and was soon shaped like a shepards staff, representing the guidance of Jesus over his flock.