The History Of Christmas Ornaments
Decorating with Christmas ornaments first began in the 1500's in Germany. Evergreens were first being used in homes and decorated with ornaments made of small white wafers or pastries cut into stars, angels, hearts and flowers. Later on in the 1600's walnuts, painted eggshells, sweet candies, paper roses and lighted candles were being used as decorations. Christmas was not celebrated in the United States of America until the early 1800's. Christmas ornaments were not yet known to Americans and were originally brought to America by the Hessians, which were German Mercenaries, during the Revolutionary War. In 1880, F.W. Woolworth started selling German made Christmas ornaments in his five and dime stores. By 1890, he was selling over 25 million dollars worth of ornaments to American consumers. German glass ornaments soon became the most favorite of all decorations that were purchased. Other Christmas ornaments were hand made by families to hang on the tree. These ornaments were chains of popcorn, cookies, sweet candies, paper garlands and paper cut outs of angels, lambs, and hearts. Most German-made Christmas ornaments were made from hand-blown glass and hand-cast lead. Later on