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Christmas Tree Ornaments
from: ChristmasReverie.comThe definition of the word ornament is an accessory used to beautify, enrich or improve the appearance of an object. Christmas tree ornaments are no exception-they are meant to beautify and improve the appearance of your tree. For many people, decorating their Christmas tree with Christmas tree ornaments is one of the most enjoyable ways to capture the magic and excitement of the holidays.
Until the mid 1800's Christmas trees were decorated with cookies, chains of popcorn, raisins, nuts and pretzels. The tops of the Christmas trees held flags, angels or stars. Then, by the 19th century, toys, bells, garlands and paper decorations were being included as Christmas tree ornaments. Paper tree ornaments had to be carefully placed so that they were not set on fire by the candles that were used to light the tree.
Christmas wasn't widely celebrated in the United States until the 1800's-as a result, decorated trees did not start becoming popular until later that century. Christmas tree ornaments were brought to America by families emigrating from Germany and England in the 1840's-these captured the imagination of American families.
Christmas tree ornaments soon became a bit hit-Christmas tree ornaments available at the time were delicate mould blown and painted coloured glass ornaments that were a speciality of the Czech glass factories. As time passed, Christmas tree ornaments became more elaborate and expensive-today they are part of a large industry. Silk and wool thread, chenille and tinsel were soon being used to cover the ornaments. Stiff spun glass appeared as angel and butterfly wings and tinsel was used on fancy flower baskets and vases.
Christmas tree ornaments come in many different forms. These range from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. Baubles are a common decoration, and they usually consist of a small, hollow, glass or plastic sphere-this is coated with a thin metallic layer to make the bauble reflective, and then with another coating of a thin pigmented polymer to provide color. A tree topper, such as a star or an angel will complete the ornamentation of the Christmas tree.
Most families reuse their Christmas tree ornaments year after year-family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced Christmas tree ornaments and decorations that have been created by family members.
Santa Claus is often seen as an ornament on Christmas trees. Other popular choices of Christmas tree ornaments are candy canes, fruit, animals and snowflake imagery. The modern day Christmas tree ornament or bauble draws its name from the 18th century witch ball which was used to ward off evil spirits.
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