The Christmas Finial

Don’t we all love the delicate glass ornaments in our Christmas trees?
They are colorful, shiny, festive and last a lifetime as long as we do not drop them on a tile floor.

How are they made you may wonder?

Many glass tree ornaments are made in China, but the unique and original ones are made in good old Europe, more specifically in Germany, Czechia or Poland. Even today they are still made the old artisan way by blowing glass.

The mold
First a design is made of the shape of the end product. The handcrafted figurine is then used to produce a negative of its shape which is then made into a mold for the production of many copies.

Glass blower
The glass blower takes a glass pipe and heats a section until it is white hot. The mold is then closed around the hot section of the pipe and the blower blows in the pipe which causes the pipe to expand into the shape of the mold. The mold is opened and the glass figurine appears. The bottom of the figurine is closed by the mold as a result of the blowing action. At that time the glass of the figurine is completely clear.

Silver glass
Next the glass shape gets its silver look. The figurine still has a portion of the original open glass pipe at the top. A silver solution is poured through the pipe. The glass item is dipped in warm water and the solution is swirled around inside the figurine. A silver residue attaches onto the glass surface. Hence the shiny silver appearance is created.
The remainder of the solution is poured back into the original container and reused in other glass items.

Coloring
The glass item in then dipped into a paint bath. The paint itself is transparent so that the silver always shines through. Any color may be applied as base color for the Christmas ornament. For example red for a Santa, white for a snowman, or green for a Christmas tree.

Decoration
An artist will then paint the ornament by adding accent colors and further decorations.
Further accents are added in the form of glitter. This is done by applying glue to certain areas and sprinkling glitter on the glue.

Completing the ornament
After all the paint and other decorations have dried, the glass pipe is cut just above the top of the ornament and a hanging ring is inserted into the neck of the ornament. Voila the Christmas ornament is ready to shine in your Christmas tree.

Packaging
Finally a set of ornaments is carefully packaged in soft paper and placed in a box with compartments adapted to the size and shape of the ornament.

As you can see, a lot of hand work is involved in the annual production of millions of Christmas ornaments. New designs and themes are added every year. There is no limit to the imagination of the artisans. There are interesting new additions to choose from for our family Christmas tree

Merry Christmas

Christmas tree ornaments come in all shapes, colors and materials.

For families with young children the Christmas tree has different types of ornaments than the one in an office, hotel or church. Ornaments may be home made or bought in a store. Materials such as paper, plastic or textile are used to make tree ornaments. However in almost all types of trees the glass ornaments are in the majority.

For centuries glass ornaments have been made by artisans in Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland. The region of Bohemia is world famous for its crystal.
For many craftsmen the production of Christmas ornaments was their home based business during the winter months. The variety of the designs is endless. Each craftsman used his own imagination and created unique shapes and objects in blown glass.

The early Christmas tree served two purposes.
1. the green needles represented the continuation of life in nature and the promise for new green in the coming spring.
2. the tree became a holder of candles. The candles produced light in the darkest days of winter and gave hope that new light was on its way after the cold and dark winter.

People started to add decorations to the tree in the form of fruit and then it was discovered that adding shiny and glittering items enhanced the lighting function of the candles.
Glass is the perfect material for the application. It shines and sparkles in the tree. Shiny ball shapes reflect the light in all directions.

In the last century the artisans were partly replaced by small factories, but individual artists are still active in this business. Many of the Christmas ornaments continue to be made in the same Bohemia region, although a lot of ornaments also come to us from China.

Glass ornaments were the perfect Christmas tree decoration in the past and will no doubt serve that purpose for many years to come.

Merry Christmas!!!

Welcome to the first post of our new blog about Christmas topics.

A new blog, a new title. What in the world is a finial???

Merriam-Webster dictionary says:
1 : a usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity especially in Gothic architecture
2 : a crowning ornament or detail (as a decorative knob)

On old buildings in Europe the top of the gable is often decorated, or at least has an ornament symbolizing the occupation or name of the owner of the building. In the most simple form the gable is topped of by a geometric sculpture, like a spire or a globe.

In Christmas decorations we also see finials. The Christmas finial is an ornament adoring the top of the Christmas tree. Most Christmas finials are made of glass and come in any color.

Many American Christmas trees are fitted with an angel figure on the tree top. European trees are not complete without the glass finial. Finials come in many shapes and sizes. They may decorate the tree in a unique color and design, but often they are one item in a larger set of Christmas ornaments in coordinated colors and shapes.

Take a look at the various finials displayed in this blog.

I hope you picked up some ideas and inspiration for the upcoming Holiday decoration season.

Merry Christmas!!!