| Christmas ornaments are baubles or figures of animals, human beings, domestic items, with which a Christmas tree is decorated. In addition to toys, the Christmas tree is decorated with chocolates, fruits and nuts.
According to some information, the first Christmas toys (glass baubles) appeared in Saxony in the 16th century. According to other sources, the first glass-made Christmas balls were made in 1848 in the small town of Lausha in Thuringia, only then started the blowing of glass-made baubles in Saxony in the middle of 19th century. Complex figures, birds, bunches of grapes appeared much later.
Types of Christmas ornaments:
* Toys
o Balls
o Lumps
o Icicles
o Flashlamps;
o Figures.
* Tree-top stars;
* Garlands;
* Beads;
* Rain;
* Tinsel;
* Chocolate figures;
* Cotton (or any other snow or ice imitation)
Christmas ornaments in various countries:
* “el Nacimiento” (the composition of figures which represent the birth scene of Jesus in the bible) is the popular ornament in the majority of Mexican houses. However, a decorated Christmas tree is also found somewhere in the house;
* Christmas trees are supplied to Greenland since fir trees do not grow there due to climate conditions. The citizens decorate the “foreigners” with candles and bright ornaments;
* Guatemalans decorate Christmas trees with figures from bible scenes.
* During the New Year, its summer time in Brazil and therefore Brazilians decorate the fir-trees with small cotton lumps so it looks like snow falling
* In Ireland, fir-trees are decorated with color flash lamps, tinsel and trinkets;
* In Sweden, the Christmas tree is decorated with stars, toys in the shape of the sun and snowflakes and figures of animals made from straw and wood;
Interesting facts:
* Originally fir-trees were decorated only with sweets, fruits and nuts. It is considered that the poor harvest of apples forced the Christians to fantasize and come up with replacements in the form of other Christmas tree toys;
* An American Kim Balaschak, living in Moscow, has a huge collection of exclusive Russian fir-tree toys. Her collection has 2500 items, which were made during the end of the 19th century up to 1966. Such valuable items, mainly, are bought in Ismailovo flea markets;
* The fashion of New Year ornaments exist in many countries worldwide and the fashion is no less complicated than clothes fashion. Annual exhibitions of toys and Christmas-tree ornaments are conducted in Paris. Many designers, companies and trading houses exhibit their vision of the New Year's ornamentation and various competitions (including charity) are conducted during such annual exhibitions;
* Tree-top stars originate from the tradition to decorate the top of a fir-tree with something like a six-pointed Bethlehem star, indicating to soothsayers a route to the newborn Jesus. Apart from the star, the fir-tree top is sometimes decorated with an angel.
* Faces of famous personalities are painted on some New Year's baubles and presently it is possible to have own photo on the baubles.
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