Bright Lights & Tinsel

As a child growing up, the Christmas tree wasn't complete until it was finally covered in tinsel. Mom and Dad always told us the individual strands needed to be place on the branches one at a time. It seemed like it took forever! It was always the last thing to go on the tree and when the sun set, and we turned the tree lights on…. ta-da! It was like a sparkly reflection of the beautiful wonder of the season. My mom is from Germany and has her own childhood memories of tinsel on their family tree. Maybe that's why we must have always put it on our tree, family traditions… What wasn't so much fun as a kid, was the removal of the tinsel when it was time to take down the tree. We had to save every strand by placing it neatly over a folded piece of paper towel that would then be rolled up and stowed away until next year. As much as we tried, we always found strands of tinsel on the carpet, behind the couch or caught in the rollers of the vacuum. I remember my first tree, after I married, didn't quite look like the tree I had as a child, and I figured out it was the missing tinsel. There's something about that glimmery glow the tinsel creates as it lightly moves and casts sparkles from the reflection of the Christmas tree lights. A holiday treat for the eyes. As a six-year-old, I (of course) never gave a thought to what the tinsel was made of or where it came from so I decided to find out. Tinsel is said to have originated in Nuremberg, Germany in the early 1600s. At that time, they used what they had, and that was pure silver. Of course, only a few could afford this holiday luxury. The sparkle that the thin strips of silver created against the candle lights was said to represent the starry sky over the Nativity. The thinly pounded strips of silver hung next to the flickering fire of candles. I can only imagine the fire concern this must have created! I'm sure a few trees must have gone up in flames. Maybe they had someone stand guard whenever they lit the candles. I suppose if you could afford to fill your tree with strips of silver you could afford a guard! I read that the word tinsel is derived from the French word, "estincele", which translates as "spark" and most likely is based on the Latin word "scintilla". It is described as a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling. By the early 1900s, manufacturing advancements with lead and aluminum allowed for mass production of tinsel that proved quite affordable for most households. Tinsel became a huge trend in the 1920s glitz and glamour years and continued through the 1960s. It was during the 1950s, the era of the popular aluminum Christmas trees, that tinsel really took off as one of the great holiday fads of the times. Although beautiful, there was a slight problem with having a flammable, aluminum Christmas tree: aluminum tinsel and hot tree lights, but then there was the issue of lead. It was the FDA that stepped in and requested all manufactures to stop using lead in the tinsel due to the probable health concerns it could cause with children. By January 1972, tinsel no longer was produced with lead, but instead aluminum and plastic. Most tinsel today, also known as icicles, are made of an inexpensive polyvinyl PVC. It is very light weight and doesn't quite hang and glitter against the tree lights the way the old fashion tinsel did. But you can still re-create that special ambiance and either bring back the memory or create new ones. Enjoy the tinsel while the season is here and then put on some of your favorite music to pass the time as you take each strand off the tree branches, because tinsel is not recyclable! But just think, it will be there ready for next Christmas to enjoy again! This popular Christmas song, from the 1966 Broadway musical "Mame" and originally performed by Angela Lansbury, includes only the bright lights and tinsel on the Christmas tree. Mame had lost her fortune in the 1929 stock market crash and needed to bring some cheer to her home. We Need A Little Christmas Haul out the holly Put up the tree before my spirit falls again Fill up the stocking I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now For we need a little Christmas, right this very minute Candles in the window, carols at the spinet Yes, we need a little Christmas, right this very minute Hasn't snowed a single flurry, but Santa dear we're in a hurry Climb down the chimney Turn on the brightest string of lights I've ever seen Slice up the fruit cake It's time we've hung some tinsel on the evergreen bough For I've grown a little leaner, grown a little colder Grown a little sadder, grown a little older And I need a little angel sitting on my shoulder Need a little Christmas now For we need a little music, need a little laughter Need a little singing ringing through the rafter And we need a little snappy, happy ever after We need a little Christmas now Ruth Blais Thompson is a lifelong resident of the Monadnock Region, a Realtor for Blais & Assoc. Realtors in Keene and a volunteer CASA. Her pastimes are writing short stories, ancestry research and playing and writing music. She lives in Dublin with her husband and 2 cats and can be reached at rblaisthompson@gmail.com.