Christmas ornaments are decorations that are used to festoon a Christmas tree. Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. Rather than purchased annually, ornaments are almost always reused year after year, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation.
There was every kind of gilt hanging-thing, from gilt pea-pods to butterflies on springs. There were shining flags and lanterns, and bird-cages, and nests with birds sitting on them, baskets of fruit, gilt apples, and bunches of grapes. The modern-day Christmas ornament was originally invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the mid-19th century.
The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn, white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. A bauble is a spherical decoration that it commonly used to adorn Christmas trees. The bauble is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and they have been in production since 1847. Baubles can have various designs on them, from "baby's first Christmas," to a favorite sports team.
The popularity of these decorations grew into the production of glass figures made by highly skilled artisans with clay molds. Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany, by Hans Greiner who produced garlands of glass beads similar to the popcorn strands and tin figures that could be hung on trees.
The artisans heated a glass tube over a flame, and then inserted the tube into a clay mold, blowing the heated glass to expand into the shape of the mold. The original ornaments were only in the shape of fruits and nuts. The artisans heated a glass tube over a flame, and then inserted the tube into a clay mold, blowing the heated glass to expand into the shape of the mold. The original ornaments were only in the shape of fruits and nuts. Other glassblowers in Lauscha recognised the growing popularity of Christmas baubles and began producing them in a wide range of designs.
