In previous centuries German families adopted the custom of decorating a wooden pyramid with greenery and other objects in place of the Paradise tree, a local holiday custom. In Latvia around 1510 the fir tree was decorated with roses, which were associated with the Virgin Mary. In 1605 a tree in Strasbourg was brought in doors and decorated with paper roses, wafers, nuts, lighted candles, and sweets on trees. Later decorations included painted eggshells, cookies, and candies.

Until the mid 1800's trees were decorated with edibles such as cookies, chains of popcorn, raisins, nuts, and pretzels. The tops of trees held flags, angels or stars. By the 19th century toys, bells, garlands, and paper decorations were being included as decorations.

Once the custom began to spread to other nations, Germany provided the world with the bulk of its ornament production. Nuremberg in Bavaria produced metal decorations for export. Unique ornaments such as butterflies, stars, miniature musical instruments, and icicles of silver foil were produced. Dresden and Leipzig Germany produced embossed paper or cardboard decorations known as Dresdens and angel hair. From the Thuringian mountains and Lauscha in Eastern Germany the creation of delicate blown glass ornaments began.

During the dark ages, German natives in northern Bohemia developed a new form of blown glass;hey learned their glass blowing skills from wandering Venetian traders, and created glass decorations to adorn the Tannenbaum (fir tree) for the winter solstice festival. Early Christians adapted this custom to celebrate the birth of Christ, and the Christmas tree ornament was born. The invention of the blowpipe helped bring about the craft of blown glass. The craft of glass blowing began as a cottage industry in Lauscha, East Germany, and ispread through most of the German country side. Beginning in the 1860's Germany would change the world when glass blowing expanded to include delicate ornaments made from glass molds. For many years, Germany was the major world source for glass ornaments. In the United States the German settlers in Pennsylvania decorated trees as early as the 1800's.

The work and living situation of the Thuringian glass blowers and the distribution remained almost unchanged from the middle of the 19^th century through World War ll. After World War II many of the families moved from Bohemia to Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany, to continue the hand blown glass tradition. During the post war years the craft families built a cottage industry and built a reputation for fine traditional glass. The cottage industries developed many different glaze colors, styles and shapes during this period. West Germany, Neustadt became recognized as the production center of the toy and ornament industry. Neustadt also became a refuge for glass blowers fleeing from Lauscha in Eastern Germany after World War II.