The Evolution of Christmas Ornaments

Things have come a long way since a Christmas ornament was likely to be just a ball hung by the window, or later on a Christmas tree.

Historians believe that this original Christmas decoration descended from a witch ball. The original purpose of a witch ball was to fend off evil spirits. However, being traditionally glass made, these balls were also very decorative, and people started to see their use for decorating the home. They were great decorations, so they started to move around the house a bit, and the original green colour was varied as time went on. Over the centuries, and gathering pace in the Victorian era, they were made in different colours and sizes, and even the material from which they were made started to be varied.

Also by Victorian times, it became fashionable to decorate the home for Christmas, so Christmas ornaments started to take a hold in Victorian homes. Less concerned about evil spirits, people looked at ornaments as a festive display, a symbol of celebration. Instead of warding off evil spirits, they started to accompany a surge in other spirits, most notably brandy and whisky.

From Victorian times onwards the range has increased steadily. The decorations have been hung in different places too: the mantle, windows, and front door being favourites, as well as the Christmas tree, but there is really no restriction where to hang Christmas ornaments these days. Inside, outside, it no longer seems to matter.

A lot of the increase in the use of Christmas decorations has come from the desire to impress friends, neighbours and family with the decorative display, as well, of course, for one's own enjoyment.

The Christmas ball that was supposed to have been derived from the witch ball, is still a clear favourite of the Christmas ornaments used to decorate the Christmas tree. Over the years Christmas tree balls have been designed in a great variety of colours and finish, with an increasing variety of sparkling balls.

Another favourite for Christmas decorations nowadays are the coloured fairy lights. Flashing coloured lights are often a feature of outside Christmas ornament displays, as well as for the tree and other places inside the house.

It also became quite normal in the 20th century to hang a new type of Christmas ornament on a tree; some sort of food, especially chocolate, that would be covered with a colourful, shiny paper wrapping to add a festive decorative effect. On top of the Christmas tree, a fairy has been a popular adornment over the years, but that has been changing in recent decades, and other Christmas ornaments often now take pride of place at the pinnacle.

As with so many things over the last hundred years, Christmas decorations have just got bigger and better, as well as with a greater variety. Now, in some localities, you will get local communities where house owners go to great lengths to decorate the outside of their homes with giant Christmas ornaments and lighting displays. Some such localities become well known simply for their Christmas display. Even here in the Philippines, some localities become well known in the Christmas season for their exuberant Christmas ornament displays.

For most of us, however, Christmas ornaments are about decorating our own little piece of territory to make Christmas a special occasion for the family, and it is unlikely that that will ever change.

This Christmas Ornament article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner of the Xmas ornament website, and http://www.gifts-for-xmas.com

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/da5411f905b376f6b5d23336bdbb60dc.htmcid=1258290908ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNGfb1mpjh2nMrtT0R6KDo-3JjObMwBest Buy expects to hire fewer staff for bholidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNNMoney.comnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Minneapolis-based electronics company said it anticipates hiring 16000 to 20000 employees for this bholiday/b season, compared with the roughly 26000 b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ibtimes.com/prnews/20081015/circuit-city-launches-one-price-promise-to-assure-consistent-dependable-pricing-in-all-sales-channel.htmcid=1257778047ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHeYqIFc7f8iea1MGcvoin1FV_u8wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=AEmR6TzLaQoJimgurl=www.ibtimes.com/data/prnews/110.jpg width=79 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2International Business Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/business/15retail.html%3Femcid=1257778047ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHx-6panNkneO0lTNanSbceGHvRygGadgetry Takes a Hit as Nervous Consumers Plan for Lean bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNew York Times,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The bholidays/b are a critical time for sales of electronics and in-home entertainment products. The video game industry traditionally does 50 percent of its b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://uk.sys-con.com/node/710485cid=1257778047ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHUn77Myyw3PUW-X0fbWJEN1jS3ygCircuit City Launches #39;One Price Promise#39; to Assure Consistent b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSYS-CON Media/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257778047hl=ennobrall 105 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.easier.com/view/Travel/Christmas_and_New_Year/article-209527.htmlcid=1258218125ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNH-B-WwLJMT7Gt_IvWTJFaqJuETfQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=LMCuWpsS-0UJimgurl=www.easier.com/myads/images/209527-1.jpg width=68 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Easier (press release)/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2008/10/15/retailers-dont-see-jolly-holidays/cid=1258218125ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNEeEeJWCQfG7hte_6LO7Z38HMkOFARetailers Don’t See Jolly bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBarron's Blogsnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1But the bholidays/b haven’t. In fact, the bholidays/b don’t seem like they’re going to come at all in 2008. Retailers have behaved as if the classic line in the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.easier.com/view/Travel/Christmas_and_New_Year/article-209527.htmlcid=1258218125ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNH-B-WwLJMT7Gt_IvWTJFaqJuETfQFamilies refuse to forgo Santa/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrEasier (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1258218125hl=ennobrall 2 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sdsucollegian.com/home/news/2008/10/15/OpinionEditorial/Celebrating.Both.Holidays.Possible-3488895.shtmlcid=1257165592ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNH4KDziDLhYVhXUcJ9Om-wn-u6tQQCelebrating both bholidays/b possible/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSDSU Collegian,nbsp;SDnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1This Monday was a bholiday/b for the students and faculty at SDSU, giving them a day off from classes (or at least another day to procrastinate and avoid doing b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/travelers-kick-off-holidays-savings/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B6DEF6EF7-DB88-43E2-AFB6-F26590C5C70F%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1258228055ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNH4ECiPUsTCJ6xkR0CwnClyv8vUPgTravelers Kick Off the bHolidays/b With Savings From Funjet Vacations/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1MILWAUKEE, Oct 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- With the bustle of the bholiday/b season just around the corner, travelers can book a Funjet Vacation to b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php%3Fid%3D7110cid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNF8G6RcKBM7yofYsbiHdyFqSNcY8Qimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=DA6bNTNyL5EJimgurl=www.nbc40.net/images/layout/header_left.jpg width=74 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WMGM/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081015_N_J__would_halve_sales_tax_for_holidays_under_GOP_plan.htmlcid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNGDzTXwL6WiyDZVPfglUWHSQmAeSQNJ would halve sales tax for bholidays/b under GOP plan/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPhiladelphia Inquirer,nbsp;PAnbsp;-/font nobr18 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Jonathan Tamari bHoliday/b shopping in New Jersey would get a bit less expensive under a Republican plan unveiled yesterday. Saying their proposal would b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp%3FaID%3D76284cid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNFPubtyuXuMzJwJW584j4ABSmFhMARepublicans Want Sales Tax Slashed for bHolidays/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNJBIZ/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.politickernj.com/bguhl/24454/assembly-republicans-propose-temporary-sales-tax-reduction-spur-economic-activitycid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHDOSQoKzfIclarDwtb8AM8GAucHAASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS PROPOSE TEMPORARY SALES TAX REDUCTION TO SPUR b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPolitickerNJ/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601103%26sid%3Dan6MlZx1mJTI%26refer%3Duscid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNFYzdf8FtF4o-hlFAZLnhTcHLwQPwNew Jersey Republicans Propose Five-Week Sales-Tax bHoliday/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomberg/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/184/story/285575.htmlcid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNFAQ3JCSeduyKBUARqeuNNfaaRibgnobrPress of Atlantic City/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.1010wins.com/N-J--GOP-Proposes-Sales-Tax-Holiday/3135582cid=1257761916ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNFHGK2ZCnbtMdmHaCamSmwTZFetfgnobr1010 Wins/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257761916hl=ennobrall 54 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-budgetoct15,0,6825171.storycid=1257740038ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNETePB24aNjmTQT-1Rl4WsGXfRN0QMayor Richard Daley to halt city services for 3 days during bholidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChicago Tribune,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr19 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1bHoliday/b weeks may be a good time to close city offices that wouldn#39;t be busy anyway, but it#39;s a bad time to send home garbage collection crews because the b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/10/to-cut-costs-ch.htmlcid=1257740038ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHZt7OJNeL0nZw6fY3SHt7vj9DJnATo cut costs, Chicago to shutter city services for 6 days during b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUSA Today/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/daley.city.budget.2.840738.htmlcid=1257740038ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHLRa-_xPhi3I9XE9jAMviyAauNcQMayor Daley To Unveil Budget In Midst Of Crunch/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCBS2 Chicago/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx%3FaudioID%3D29520cid=1257740038ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHAEHZ820H9RXtr5c4Ix-sVWOYLZQDaley Proposes Partial Government Shutdown to Balance Budget/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrChicago Public Radio/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story%3Fsection%3Dnews/local%26id%3D6448784cid=1257740038ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNHY1PJf0cjrwcPOJULkDETgIOEhxQnobrABC7Chicago.com/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257740038hl=ennobrall 32 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/just-time-holidays-virgin-mobile/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BA77FF080-19C6-47C5-A309-C8FFA40A28D6%257D%26dist%3Dhpprcid=1258199252ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNEpLq0ze4Fv-yg2kVdofee66e8P0wJust in Time for bHolidays/b, Virgin Mobile USA Lowers Prepaid b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1, , ) has unveiled new prepaid international calling rates to Latin America, Asia, Brazil and other markets across the globe for as low as two cents per b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.browncountyindiana.com/main.asp%3FSectionID%3D1%26SubSectionID%3D1%26ArticleID%3D11875%26TM%3D57391.47cid=1258247248ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNEerXoUj9J0MhN8iF3ydImHb6osDgChamber facing changes, working on bholidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBrown County Democrat,nbsp;INnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1bHoliday/b promotions abound with hopes of dissolving the outsiders#39; view of Brown County as a tourist destination that goes into hibernation once the colorful b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.wbbm780.com/Daley-Orders-Temporary--Partial-Shutdown-Of-City-S/3134518cid=1257744911ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNEwAW8mtc3JAPgNMssKvWOxlgVTqAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=U0h0nAIvgkwJimgurl=imgsrv.wbbm780.com/image/DbGraphic/200810/1086782.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2WBBM780/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail%3FcontentId%3D7650841%26version%3D1%26locale%3DEN-US%26layoutCode%3DTSTY%26pageId%3D3.2.1cid=1257744911ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNECvJrNrgvVU0PcsEUQU3fsFwcxWACity Government Will Close Around 3 bHolidays/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMyFox Chicago,nbsp;ILnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Ironically, the idea of a bholiday/b shutdown originated with organized labor, said Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.wbbm780.com/Daley-Orders-Temporary--Partial-Shutdown-Of-City-S/3134518cid=1257744911ei=jqH2SIT6LKiY6APwxeyNCQusg=AFQjCNEwAW8mtc3JAPgNMssKvWOxlgVTqADaley Orders Temporary, Partial Shutdown Of City Services/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWBBM780/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1257744911hl=ennobrall 5 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
holidays - Google News

Set the Mood- Halloween Decoration Ideas

When Halloween comes around and you want to throw a... Read More

How To Choose The Hotel Thats Right For You

Getting the right hotel to spend one~s vacation at is... Read More

Maybe This Christmas Will Be Different....

Have you always dreamed of a Norman Rockwell Christmas -... Read More

Relaxing Holidays - Five Ways To Make Your Next Holiday Stress Free

For many people the end of a year is a... Read More

What Is The Easter In Your Business?

Easter 2005 is coming, Sunday March 27, and Christians worldwide... Read More

Halloween & Hounds

Halloween is "fright night" for humans not dogs. Screaming, running,... Read More

Keeping it Simple this Season

It's back. The holiday season and all the challenges that... Read More

Christmas Matters

Every year I vow to make Christmas easier, simpler -... Read More

Top 5 Ways for an ADD Adult to Have a Happy Holiday

Holidays have the potential to send an adult with Attention... Read More

Christmas Holidays: 5 Ways To Make This Holiday Your Best Ever

For many people the end of a year is a... Read More

The Only New Year?s Resolution You Need

I am going to make a bold statement. I think... Read More

Father?s Day Gift Idea: Do-It-Yourself Backyard Pond Kit

This Father's Day, sit back and enjoy a nice cold... Read More

Is Labor Day Passe

In a word, yes !Labor Day, which started in 1882... Read More

Real vs. Artificial Christmas Trees

Putting up and decorating your Christmas tree is a holiday... Read More

10 Stress Free Tips to Pamper Mom This Mothers Day

Mothers Day is the day we set aside each year... Read More

Is Buying a Gift for Mom as Difficult for You as it is for Me?

I have walked through a countless number of stores searching... Read More

Spice Up Your Life with an Adventure Holiday!

Are you bored with the routine of city life? Do... Read More

Little Helpers in the Holiday Kitchen

The holiday season is a wonderful opportunity to allow your... Read More

Say I Love You For Valentines Day

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's time to... Read More

The Holiday Army

Here it comes again - the Holiday Army - in... Read More

Use H-O-L-L-Y to Beat Christmas Cooking Stress

What does holly, that untidy traditional greenery you just have... Read More

A Priceless Birthday Gift

Kelly was a very wealthy Hollywood actress, who was used... Read More

The History of Christmas Ornaments

History of OrnamentsIn A.D. 336, an early Roman calendar first... Read More

Why July 4th ?

On July 4th 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration... Read More

An Easy Gift For Many Occasions

It can be very hard to find that one perfect... Read More