The Victorian Christmas Tree
by Joanne Haug
"The fir tree was put into a great tub filled with sand... The servants, and the young ladies also decked it out. On one branch they hung little nets, cut out of colored paper; every net was filled with sweetmeats; golden apples and walnuts hung down as if they grew there, and more than a hundred little candles, red, white and blue, were fastened to the different boughs. Dolls that looked exactly like real people-- the Tree had never seen such before-- swung among the foliage, and high on the summit of the Tree was fixed a tinsel star. It was splendid, particularly splendid. "This evening," said all, "this evening it will shine."
-- HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
The Christmas tree was introduced into England in the early 19th century. In 1841 the German Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, decorated a large Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, reminiscent of his childhood celebrations in Germany (the Christmas tree had been a deep-rooted German tradition since the 18th century). Soon after, it became very fashionable in Victorian England to set up a large tree at Christmas and decorate it with lighted candles, candies, and fancy cakes hung from the branches by ribbon and by paper chains. German settlers had brought this tradition to North America as early as the 17th century and decorated Christmas trees were also the height of fashion in America by the 19th century.
Homemade paper cornucopias, filled with sweets, fruit, nuts and popcorn hung on many Victorian Christmas trees. Glass Christmas tree balls, hand crafted in Lauscha, made their first appearance on American trees in the 1860s, primarily in the homes of German immigrants. Other early ornaments were made of lead and formed into flat geometric shapes, such as stars and crosses. "Store bought" Christmas tree ornaments were introduced around 1870 and quickly began to replace the homemade (usually edible) decorations. Most were crafted in Germany, from Dresden and tiny villages in the Thuringian Mountains. From the 1870s to 1890s, many Victorian Christmas trees were trimmed with ornaments formed with wax in the shape of angels and children. Also cotton-wool ornaments were used, crafted with embossed paper faces, trimmed with buttons, powered glass and gold paper wings.
CHRISTMAS TREE STAND PATENTS:
1876: First American patents issued to Abram C. Mott & Hermann Albrecht
1878: A patent for a spring wound mechanism and a music box for a revolving, musical tree stand issued to Johannes C. Eckardt.
1899: A patent for a stand with a electric motor and a base for water to preserve the tree issued for Alfred Wagner.
by Joanne Haug
"The fir tree was put into a great tub filled with sand... The servants, and the young ladies also decked it out. On one branch they hung little nets, cut out of colored paper; every net was filled with sweetmeats; golden apples and walnuts hung down as if they grew there, and more than a hundred little candles, red, white and blue, were fastened to the different boughs. Dolls that looked exactly like real people-- the Tree had never seen such before-- swung among the foliage, and high on the summit of the Tree was fixed a tinsel star. It was splendid, particularly splendid. "This evening," said all, "this evening it will shine."
-- HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
The Christmas tree was introduced into England in the early 19th century. In 1841 the German Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, decorated a large Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, reminiscent of his childhood celebrations in Germany (the Christmas tree had been a deep-rooted German tradition since the 18th century). Soon after, it became very fashionable in Victorian England to set up a large tree at Christmas and decorate it with lighted candles, candies, and fancy cakes hung from the branches by ribbon and by paper chains. German settlers had brought this tradition to North America as early as the 17th century and decorated Christmas trees were also the height of fashion in America by the 19th century.
Homemade paper cornucopias, filled with sweets, fruit, nuts and popcorn hung on many Victorian Christmas trees. Glass Christmas tree balls, hand crafted in Lauscha, made their first appearance on American trees in the 1860s, primarily in the homes of German immigrants. Other early ornaments were made of lead and formed into flat geometric shapes, such as stars and crosses. "Store bought" Christmas tree ornaments were introduced around 1870 and quickly began to replace the homemade (usually edible) decorations. Most were crafted in Germany, from Dresden and tiny villages in the Thuringian Mountains. From the 1870s to 1890s, many Victorian Christmas trees were trimmed with ornaments formed with wax in the shape of angels and children. Also cotton-wool ornaments were used, crafted with embossed paper faces, trimmed with buttons, powered glass and gold paper wings.
CHRISTMAS TREE STAND PATENTS:
1876: First American patents issued to Abram C. Mott & Hermann Albrecht
1878: A patent for a spring wound mechanism and a music box for a revolving, musical tree stand issued to Johannes C. Eckardt.
1899: A patent for a stand with a electric motor and a base for water to preserve the tree issued for Alfred Wagner.
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