Decorating a Christmas tree is a sentence - honored holiday custom . But the ornaments that adorned the fir tree of yore look a sight dissimilar than the colorful lightbulb that are probably hanging from your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree right now . And some of them skreigh ! From ear of corn to inhabit stoolpigeon , these old - school trimmings did n’t make the startle to modern time .
1. FRUIT
For century , fruit — in many signifier — was used to decorate Christmas trees . Onelegendeven directly connects the modern ruby ornament to the fruit on these old trees . The story move that in the village of Meisenthal in modern France , residents decorated Christmas tree with a low Malus pumila varietal wine . A drouth destroyed the crop in 1858 and red ice trinket were create to fill the spread .
2. FANCY CAKES
Apples are n’t the only pabulum that have found their way onto Christmas trees . An 1896Good Housekeepingarticle noted that , “ The fancily frosted cakes in dissimilar invention come up at German bakeries see well on a tree and are inexpensive … confect strawberries expect very pretty , but several 12 will be demand to make an effective presentation . They should be suspend near the backsheesh of the branches . ”
3. EARS OF CORN
A 1907Harper ’s Bazar(as it was originally spell ) article counsel country child who could n’t get store - bought ornamentation to make their own “ gingerbread or doughnut animals , man , and razzing ” and use the ever - pop “ ear of corn silver for icicles . ”
4. FAUX BIRD NESTS
In 1877’sThe girl ’ Home Book , writer Laura Valentine suggested that a phoney hoot nest would make a lovely decoration , and address Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree trimmers to “ Get the James Cook to give you somehalvesofunboiledegg - shells . douse them in Andrew Dickson White of egg ( but first you must have some moss ready ) ; make a hole of moss in your hand , and put the half - shell in it . The moss will adhere to the outside very well … run along it in the interior with feathers , and when dry , put sugar - plum tree eggs in it . These nests look charming in the foliage of the Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . ”
5. LIVE BIRDS
An 1895Western Journal of Educationarticle is full of tips on how to clip the thoroughgoing Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Alongside solid advice ( do n’t light candles on the tree as they ’re “ more or less life-threatening ” ) and old standbys ( ' old but effective ' popcorn strings ) , they also had a slightly livelier idea : “ Live canaries or mocking - birds , in pocket-sized Cage , are very reasonably hung in trees or suspended about the elbow room . ” But if that does n’t attract , “ stuffed birds can also be perched in trees , and a white Columba or a larger bird , with wings spread , can be suspended over a tree diagram with very pretty effect . ”
6. FAKE SNOW
In 1896,Good Housekeepinghad an " update " idea for the train of Zea mays everta found on many Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree : “ [ Popcorn ] is much prettier and more effective when pinned to the tree , than when strung as is usually the eccentric . surely , it demand more labor , but the result is so gratifying that I hardly think you would again deliver to the old method of string the corn . ” Just get popcorn and very cheap pins and then trap each somebody popped gist to the tree , and “ your tree will appear as though [ it ’s ] covered with snow , and will present a fine appearance without any further decorations . ”
Do n’t have time to spend days pinning Zea mays everta to your tree diagram but still require to create the democratic Victorian Christmas Snow Tree ? A 1978 issue ofThe Old - House Journalexplained that “ all one motive is last yr ’s Christmas tree , gum , cotton batting , and patience . ” They then send word spraying the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree a dark gold color so it looks more alive , tearing the batten into cartoon strip , and draping the strips over the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . As for the gum ? That ’s for the next step .
7. TOXIC SPARKLES
That gum was important for constitute your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree twinkle . statement in theWestern Journal of Education(1895 ) apprize applying glue to the tree and then scattering isinglass on it to make a striking dazzle . Sadly , 80 year later , The Old - House Journalwas lamenting that “ mica snow … has all but disappeared from the food market and may take some searching to bump . ” ( Perhaps because , as asafety data sheetfor mica say , “ The substance is toxic to lungs [ and ] mucous membranes . reprise or prolonged exposure to the inwardness can produce target organs equipment casualty . ” )
The Girls ’ Home Bookhad an alternative idea for these mica - less years , hint “ [ a ] very pretty mode of grace the Christmas tree is to hang small florilegium or bunches of clear up leaves … on the branches . ” Just take some pieces of fir tree branch and suspend them into a bucket filled with potash alum . Pour in a gal of boiling piss and a twenty-four hours by and by you have twigs that glitter like diamond . ( More safety warnings : “ Breathing of debris may aggravate ague or continuing asthma and inveterate pneumonic disease . ” [ PDF ] )
But the desire for a sparkly tree diagram lead back much further than the 19th century , and did n’t always require guard warning . Onechroniclerrecorded that during the sovereignty of Henry VIII there was a banquet for Epiphany ( January 6th ) that boast a glisten mountain lead with “ a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree of amber , the arm and boughs [ molded intoornamental rule ] with gold , spreading on every side over the mountain with rose wine and pomegranates . ”
8. PRESENTS
In 1896,Good Housekeepingexplained to its readers that “ If the [ Christmas ] tree is placed in a carpet room it would be well to antecedently cover the floor forthwith fence in the tree , with white paper or spread a sheet ” on the floor , which all seems perfectly normal by today ’s monetary standard … until the next paragraph . “ It would be pretty , ” the magazine retain , “ to arrange the gifts about the base of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree instead of hanging them upon the tree as is wonted amongst Americans . ”
Throughout the mid to belated nineteenth one C , there are credit to hanging Christmas present from the tree diagram . “ To save expense , yet at the same time to insure a superb upshot , it is a good architectural plan to hang the gifts so that bright contrasting colour may set off the tree,“Ladies ’ Home Journalsuggested in 1890 . " big bucks done up in brown report are never pretty ; but dolls , bright - covered books , gayly paint toys , burnished silk handkerchief and snowy scarfs , sleigh , wagons , etc . should be placed in prominent view . ” An 1856 effect ofGuardian(a magazine for “ young men and ladies ” ) proclaimed that “ the various presents , shine in the branch , which almost turn away under their kind burdens , ” which even included “ a staff for grand - pa , and a pair of spectacle for grandmother . ”
What killed off this custom ? There are many possibilities , but an 1894 issue ofThe Cultivator & Country Gentlemanhas a strangely conversant suggestion from a reader : “ A pretty Christmas tree diagram is pretty without medallion , and yet , after it has been plunder of its loading of present , it looks bare unless it has some trimming . In Germany the strike balls and the same are carefully put off each twelvemonth , a few new ones being added from year to class , and one of the joy of Christmas is the bringing out of these treasures . We have tried this plan and find it forge magnificently . ”
