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The Origin of Christmas Baubles


The origin of Christmas Baubles relate to the custom of decorating indoor Christmas trees. This custom became extremely popular during the Victorian era when homemade baubles and trinkets were made to decorate the tree. At first the tree was hung with small toys, cakes, bags of sweets tied with ribbon containing bonbons  or candies like sugared almonds or other bonbons.

 

 

 

The German influence - Christmas Baubles


In Germany the tradition and Christmas custom of decorating the tree extended to commercial decorations like silver wire ornaments, glass baubles and ornaments. Germany were extremely fond of decorations and as early as the 17th century real wafer thin silver tinsel had been machine-made by German manufacturers. These soon became a popular trend and tinsel, glass baubles and ornaments were exported to England and the US. The fashion for decorating Christmas trees with glass baubles and other decorations was brought to England by Prince Albert, the German prince who married Queen Victoria. In 1841 Prince Albert set up the first tree at Windsor Castle - this custom soon became all the rage in fashionable, wealthy households. In 1850 Charles Dickens described trees as being covered with small dolls, miniature furniture, tiny musical instruments, costume jewelry, toy guns and swords, fruit and candy.

 

 

 

The Custom of Christmas Baubles and decorations spread to everyone


The first American made glass ornaments and baubles were created by William DeMuth in New York in 1870. Christmas Baubles and decorations were then adopted by the masses when, by 1880, Woolworth's sold inexpensive, commercially produced,  Christmas baubles and ornaments. F. W. Woolworth had discovered the Lauscha baubles during a visit to Germany and made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to America. As time went by the glass baubles were commonly replaced by plastic baubles.

 

 

What is a  Bauble?


What is a bauble? A bauble is a spherical decoration that is used to decorate Christmas trees. Christmas baubles were originally made of glass and invented in the small German town of Lauscha, a town which specialised in glass blowing. The bauble is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and they have been in mass production since 1847. Baubles can have various designs on them, from "baby's first Christmas," to a favorite sports team.   

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