A glass Christmas ball is a symbol of a wonderful holiday. Every time they decorate a Christmas tree, people do not think about why the ball got the status of a traditional decoration. However, this toy has its own story.
The ancient Celts in time immemorial introduced the custom of worshiping the forces of nature. According to their beliefs, various supernatural beings inhabited wildlife.
The birth of the first balls
The spirits responsible for harvest and fertility lived on the branches of the trees. Sacrifices were made to win their favor. Therefore, the sacred tree, which at first was named the apple tree, was lavishly decorated and danced around it.
Later, the role of the ritual tree passed to evergreen spruce. The tradition of decorating it came from the ancient Celts. The first decor was extremely edible: apples, tangerines, carrots, potatoes, eggs, nuts, sugar and gingerbread figures, candy canes.
Each decoration symbolized something. Apples are a bountiful harvest, nuts are the mystery of providence, and an egg is the continuity of life. Sometimes a layer of glitter and paint was applied to the apples, and the nuts were coated with sugar.
It was believed that a Christmas tree decorated in this way acquires the ability to drive away evil spirits. Branches decorated with ruddy fruits were fixed above the threshold, to the will of the windows, in order to attract happiness to the house and protect the whole family from witchcraft.
It was apples among the variety of the first that were given an honorable role. The selected fruits are large, even and the most beautiful strong fruits are carefully stored until winter. Against the background of dark green branches, yellow and red fruits seemed especially impressive, which became the prototypes of the first glass balls.
1848 was a lean year for fruit. Then the idea came to the heads of glassblowers from the town of Lauschy in Thuringia to offer fruit a replacement. The masters made the first balls from glass. The novelty immediately won hearts.
Manufacturing soon became a very lucrative business. There was also a decree that the silvery balls from Laushi were recognized as Christmas decorations. Later, talented craftsmen began to blow other glass figures as well. From Germany, Christmas tree multi-colored and transparent glass toys from Germany were sold all over the world.
Fashion is always capricious
After the war, toy production continued. But now the balloons were sent from Lausha and to the USSR. Packed boxes of 16 balls, original "top" and 5 other items. They wrote on the cover "Happy New Year!" instead of the traditional "Decoration for Christ's tree from Thuringia".
Such boxes were considered a scarce commodity and were a real dream of Soviet residents: after all, balls were produced in such a distant Europe! Every year he dictated his own fashion for Christmas tree decoration.
At first, the twigs were simply hung with colorful balls. But at the beginning of the last century, variegation was declared a sign of a lack of taste.
Brightness was replaced by the sophistication of the white and silver scale. For a while, the balls were forgotten. They were replaced by traditional paper and straw decorations.
A glass ball is a very fragile product. Therefore, he gradually disappears into oblivion. Its place is taken by plastic toys. You can drop them as much as you like: they are not afraid of anything. These balls are much safer.
But all with the fear of breaking the magic of the fragile decoration leaves the mystery of the process of decorating the Christmas tree.
Everyone decides for himself which toys to choose. The main thing remains unchanged: the feeling of a wonderful holiday. And to a large extent, the Christmas tree helps to create and feel it.
