BRING OUT YOUR BAUBLES
YES, THERE’S BRINGING HOME THE TREE OR STIRRING THE PUDDING, BUT IT’S THE MOMENT THE BAUBLES COME OUT OF HIBERNATION THAT CHRISTMAS REALLY STARTS. WE CELEBRATE THEIR ROLE IN CHRISTMASES PAST, PRESENT AND MANY MORE INTO THE FUTURE
HISTORY OF BAUBLES
There’s nothing like unearthing a box of baubles from a tangle of tinsel to dispel gloomy winter days. Not only do they sprinkle twinkling light where things are matt and dull, but each one comes trailing happy memories of Christmas past: the bell-shaped glass bauble with glittery stripes that was handed down from an elderly relative, the sole survivor of a box of six; a wonky cardboard Santa handcrafted by a junior member of the household; a tin soldier, a survivor from childhood, battered but intact.
From that joyful moment of rediscovery to the fun of hanging them on the tree, baubles are so much a part of Christmas that it is hard to imagine it without them. Over the years, we’ve grown accustomed to a massive and increasingly varied choice of baubles, but they’re actually a relatively recent addition to the canon of Christmas traditions. Baubles first appeared in Britain in 1848 when a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert standing beside a fir tree decorated with lights, ornaments and presents prompted the nation to do likewise. German-born Albert brought his country’s yuletide traditions to the marriage, including making the tree the focus of celebrations.
Little surprise then, that the bauble was created in Germany, specifically in the small, snow-toppedmountain town of Lauscha. Already known for glass making – glass eyes, barometers and marbles were manufactured here – it was a small step to produce mouthblown glass ornaments.
By the 1840s, practically the whole town was involved in Christmas bauble manufacture and by the 1870s they were exported to Britain in significant numbers.
Initially these were garlands of small globes, and ornaments in the shape of animals, fruit and nuts: spherical baubles with a silvered nitrate inner, topped a cap and a hook, were developed in the 1850s. There are still 20 small glass-blowing companies in Lauscha and, every Christmas, the town holds a market, the Kugelmarkt, a glittering celebration of the bauble.
These days most UK baubles are manufactured in the Czech Republic, Japan and Mexico, though some are still made in Germany. Although there are many plastic options, the fragility and translucency of glass baubles makes those that survive each Christmas even more precious as they are brought down from the attic and unwrapped year after year.