Glass Christmas Ornaments

History of Glass Christmas Ornaments

Europe

Glass was produced in many places in Europe during the Roman Empire. The Thuringia region of Germany was known for its glassmaking as early as the twelfth century, and one method of blowing glass developed there in the sixteenth century. Hans Greiner established a glassworks in the small town of Lauscha in 1597.

In 1847, his descendent, another Hans Greiner, began making glass ornaments shaped like fruits and nuts. His unique process combined hand-blowing and molds, and he silvered the inside of the ornaments with mercury or lead.

By the 1870s, German glass Christmas ornaments were being exported to other parts of Europe. They were especially popular in Britain, after a London newspaper printed an illustration of Queen Victoria's Christmas tree decorated with glass ornaments.

After World War II, the glassmakers of Eastern Germany stopped producing ornaments. Under the influence of Communism, practicality was emphasized and religious celebrations were discouraged. Many of the old glass molds were lost, but some were deliberately destroyed.

North America

Families who came to North America from Germany and England often brought their glass ornaments with them, but glass Christmas ornaments only became widely popular after 1880. That was the year that F.W. Woolworth imported German-made ornaments to sell in his stores, where they were displayed on small trees made of dyed goose feathers. By 1890, the Woolworth stores sold $25 million worth of ornaments annually.

Japan began producing large quantities of glass Christmas ornaments in 1925, designed especially for export. Czechoslovakia also began producing beautiful and complex ornaments at about the same time. More than 250 million glass Christmas ornaments were imported into the United States in 1935.

U.S. manufacturers did not begin making ornaments until 1939, when war broke out in Europe. Corning used a machine originally designed to make light bulbs to produce more than 2,000 glass ornament balls per minute.

Today's Ornaments

Today, we cannot imagine Christmas without beautiful glass ornaments. Whether we buy packages of simple glass balls, collect handmade treasures, or make our own, glass Christmas ornaments are part of our seasonal celebrations.

Displaying Ornaments

Glass ornaments are fragile! Your favorite ornaments should be displayed where pets and children cannot bump into them and winds cannot dislodge them. Many families own some unbreakable ornaments for children to put on the Christmas tree and allow only adults to handle the heirlooms.

Don't display painted glass ornaments in direct sunlight. The sun will fade the colors.

Caring for Glass Christmas Ornaments

Cleaning

Your ornaments may look dusty by the end of the Christmas season, but resist the impulse to wash them. Remember that most glass Christmas ornaments are painted on the exterior, and the paint is often water-soluble. Don't use water, glass cleaner, soaps, detergents, or any other chemical solutions on them! Instead of washing them, dust them gently. A feather duster is most suitable.

Storage

Store your glass Christmas ornaments carefully. They should be protected from extreme temperature changes and very high or low humidity. These conditions can cause stress fractures in glass, so store your ornaments in a location with stable temperatures and humidity levels, like a closet.

Each ornament should be wrapped individually for safe storage. Acid-free tissue paper or cotton batting are good wrapping materials. Plastic bubble wrap does not allow proper ventilation.

Storage boxes should be quite shallow. One layer of ornaments in the box is ideal; two layers is tolerable. Multiple layers of ornaments increase the risk of breakage.

Sturdy cardboard boxes with secure tops are good storage containesr as long as the storage location has no possibility of water leaks. If leaks or floods are a possibility, plastic storage boxes are a better choice.

After all your cherished glass Christmas ornaments are wrapped and boxed, be sure to handle the boxes carefully when you move them. Even with proper packing, rough handling can break fragile glass. Treat them carefully, and your family will enjoy them for generations.