How To Decorate A Victorian Christmas Tree

My about treasured Christmas decorations are the ones that have been passed down through the family for generations. The jolly glass clown that was gifted to my father as a baby back in 1920. The delicate bird ornaments with the tin prune that my female parent loved. The fragile German drinking glass ornaments passed to me past my great-aunt. The paper clown I cut from a book over l years ago to hang on our tree.

The Christmas Tree was a German tradition brought to England in the early nineteenth century past King George III's German born married woman Charlotte. Queen Victoria wrote in her journal of having a Christmas tree in her room in 1832 simply it wasn't until the 1840s that information technology gained wide spread popularity in Britain.

In 1845, The Illustrated London News published an account of a Christmas Eve celebration held at the Temperance Hall by the London Mission Club for about 400 children. The tree was loaded with fruits and flowers and other piffling presents and illuminated with many candles. During the evening celebration, the fruits and gifts were distributed to the children who received them with excitement.

Illustrated London News 1845 Dec 27 — Illustrated London News, 27 Dec 1845, page 405

Christmas trees were traditionally decorated with stale fruit, candies in wrappers, cookies, nuts, and strands of popcorn or cranberries. Small domicile made gifts were likewise popular. Decorations of tin, leather or drinking glass would become cherished heirlooms.

Dried Fruit

Dried apple tree slices were strung together to employ a Christmas tree ornamentation.

Dried fruit such every bit apple slices, orange slices, cinnamon, cranberries, popcorn were threaded into long strands and draped around the tree as decorations.

Decorations from Nature

Boughs of evergreen, pine cones, dried leaves, sprigs of holly and mistletoe were all used in decorating our ancestors' homes.

Homemade Decorations

Homemade ornaments were made of materials at hand including pino cones, straw, yarn, tin, fabric, or paper. Tinsel has its origins in Federal republic of germany where it was originally made from thin strips of beaten silverish.

Small Gifts

Small gifts were often tucked amid the Christmas tree branches at the terminal infinitesimal.

Glass Ornaments

Fragile glass, often hand painted ornaments were passed down in families for generations. Hans Greiner of Lauscha, Federal republic of germany is credited with producing the first glass ornaments in the shape of fruit and nuts in 1847. They were made using a unique hand-blown process combined with molds. The inside of the ornament was given a silver color using mercury or lead which was later on changed to silverish nitrate.

Making Drinking glass Ornaments

Here, at the Corning Museum of Glass, a skilled glass blower demonstrates the traditional method of creating drinking glass Christmas ornaments.

Candles

Christmas copse were often lit with real candles. These could apace go dangerous if non tended carefully.

Panic at a Workhouse. At a Christmas tree entertainment at Chester Workhouse concluding nighttime a panic was created by an alert of fire. A lighted candle savage from the tree, and ignited the toys and wool. The children ran out screaming. Beyond the loss of the toys and the fractional burning of the tree no damage was done.
Coventry Evening Telegraph – Th 31 December 1891

The newspapers in the latter half of the nineteenth century were total of tragic tales of fires started by candles on a Christmas tree.

There was a handsome Christmas tree, over which Mr Deane, the son of the well known Dublin architect, Mr M Deane, officiated, being attired in the costume of Father Christmas, which was equanimous of light material, chiefly cotton wool. Suddenly, when standing near the tree, his costume caught fire from candle, and he was quickly enveloped flames. His wife, to whom was only recently married, rushed his assistance, and, unfortunately, her clothes besides became ignited. Mr Macready, Jr. with great presence of mind, and so rushed to the billiard table, and. tearing the fabric from it threw information technology over Mr and Mrs Deane and succeeded in reducing the flames, non all the same, before he too was burnt.
Dublin Daily Express – Wednesday 16 January 1889

Because of some quick thinking, all of the parties burned during the to a higher place incident were expected to recover only there were many reports of people being seriously injured or even killed after having their clothing set debark from the flame of a candle on a Christmas tree.

In 1882, Edward Johnson, who was a colleague of Thomas Edison, hand-strung 80 carmine, white and blue lights for his tree. By the early twentieth century, as the homes of the more than well-to-practice were fitted with electricity, the showtime commercially bachelor Christmas tree lights were sold.