I have been looking at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brillantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects. There were rosy-cheeked dolls, hiding behind the green leaves; and...sugar-plums; there were trinkets for the elder girls, far brighter than any grown-up gold and jewels...there were teetotums, humming tops, needle-cases, pen-wipers...real fruit, made artificially dazzling with gold leaf; imitation apples, pears, and walnuts, crammed with surprises; in short, as a pretty child, before me, delightedly whisped to another pretty child, her bosom friend, "There was everything and more."

-Charles Dickens, Household Word

Believe it or not, it is entirely possible that Christmas tree ornaments descended from witch balls in the early 1800s. A Witch Ball is a hollow glass ball, which was traditionally hung above doors and windows. The belief was that the beauty of the witch ball would attract and trap evil spirits, spells from witches and negative energy. Witch balls placed on Christmas trees protected the presents on and underneath the Christmas tree.

Another possible origin of decorating Christmas trees begins with Martin Luther, who noticed how beautiful the stars were shining through the forest trees. He placed candles on a Christmas tree to mimic the beauty of the starlit sky through the forest and in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem, which led the three Wise men to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

It's also well known that the Church used Christmas trees decorated with apples as props in the mystery plays of the middle ages. These were enactments of the story of the garden of good and evil, often presented during the Christmas season.

As far as Christmas Tree decorating as we know it today, an English visitor to Strasbourg Germany in the early 1600s reported seeing Christmas trees decorated with wafers and golden sugar twists. We also know that that markets in Germany in the 1600s sold wax ornaments and shaped gingerbread that people could buy to decorate their Christmas trees and tinsel was invented in Thuringia in the early 1600s by shredding pieces of real silver into delicate ribbons.

By Victorian times, it was the fashion to decorate the Christmas tree. It was a source of pleasure and pride in one's home to have a beautifully decorated tree. Glass-bead garlands. gilded tin bugles and blown glass ornaments became very popular. A winged angel gilded in pure tin topped many a Christmas tree by the mid 1800s.

Victorian Christmas trees were usually tabletop trees. They were often decorated with little gifts that we now consider to be stocking stuffers. Homemade ornaments were very common. Popcorn strings, paper ornaments, ribbons, small toys, nuts, fruits, candies and hand made ornaments of Christmas cards and doilies were very popular as well.

Just in case you want to try your hand at decorating your Christmas tree with traditional Victorian era decorations, here are some tips from period books and magazines:

Advice on Christmas Tree Decorating from 1901: "Do not forget to have some form of jewelry for the tree, bracelets or necklaces, not of gleaming precious stones nor yet of gold or silver, but of toothsome nut kernels and delicious, dark rich raisins. With needle and strong thread string first a peanut, then a raisin, a peanut, a raisin, an almond, a raisin, a filbert, a raisin and so on, using as many kinds of nuts as you deem best. The boy or girl receiving the novelty will be charmed and later may devour the queer beads one by one as they are pulled from the string.

Holly Berries:

Holly, where it can be had, is of course the special tree of the season. Its leaves bent into various curves, its thorny points, and its bundles of coral-red berries, make it the prince of evergreens for decorative purposes. It is a good plan to strip off the berries, and use them strung in bunches, as the berries get hidden when the sprigs are worked into wreathes and devices, and the berries bent into little bunches, dotted about the festoons here and there, look very effective.

An article called "Christmas Tree Decorations" published in December, 1901, provided the following instructions: "Do not forget to have some form of jewelry for the tree, bracelets or necklaces, not of gleaming precious stones nor yet of gold or silver, but of toothsome nut kernels and delicious, dark rich raisins. With needle and strong thread string first a peanut, then a raisin, a peanut, a raisin, an almond, a raisin, a filbert, a raisin and so on, using as many kinds of nuts as you deem best. The boy or girl receiving the novelty will be charmed and later may devour the queer beads one by one as they are pulled from the string.

Traditional Victorian

Victorians hung spiced pomander balls throughout their homes and on their Christmas trees. Here's how to make them:

Apple or orange
Whole cloves
Ground cinnamon
Orris root (optional)
Ribbon or other trim
Pins
Adhesive tape or a thimble
Paper bag
Scissors

Push the cloves into the apple or orange with your thumb. (Protect your thumb with a thimble or by wrapping adhesive tape around and around it to protect it.)

Place the covered apple or orange in a bag filled with with ground cinnamon and orris root and shake it until it is thoroughly powdered..

Place the apple or orange in a warm dry place and let it dry - this takes about two weeks. Turn it from time to time so it doesn't become flat on any one side. The pomander will shrink as it dries.

Place ribbon, lace or other decorative trims at the top of the pomander.

Use a ribbon hanger or a ribbon loop to hang the pomander on your tree.



Pop-corn balls look tempting on a Christmas tree. They are easy to make, a safe ornament when the tree is to be lighted with candles, and they taste very good, indeed. Have the fire clear and hot, with no flames, and put in the popper at one time only enough corn to cover the bottom a single kernel deep; shake the popper constantly while the corn is over the fire until it has all popped. Then boil one-quarter of a cupful of molasses with a little sugar until it hardens in the water, remove from the fire before it turns brittle and pour it over two quarts of corn. Mix well and make into balls about the size of lemons, suspend the sweet, white ornaments from the twigs, and use the remaining corn for a different decoration. String a lot of the flower-like kernels with a large needle and strong thread, loop the strands from branch to branch, and the snowy ropes will lighten up the foliage beautifully (Fig. 20)." FROM: "CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS, Good to Eat & Good to Look Upon". From "The Delineator" December 1901.

Victorians also liked to collect beautiful postcards. They would cut them into shapes, decorate them with lace, ribbons, beads and other bric a brac and hang them as ornaments. We have all kinds of gorgeous vintage postcards you can print from your own computer and use for decorations, so be sure to visit our main website!