Holiday & Patriotic

Feather Christmas tree on revolving musical stand

The tradition of bringing a tree into the home and decorating it was first criticized by the prophet Jeremiah.  Oliver Cromwell later preached again the “heathen tradition,” but of course, we know how things turned out for him….  Later, Christmas trees were criticized for different reasons – environmental ones!  It’s a little hard to imagine now, but in the early 20th century, railroads and other changes in industry had resulted in rapid deforestation, thereby opening the door for artificial trees.

The first artificial trees produced for the mass market were feather trees, and they are still very collectible.  Feather trees are just that – trees made of feathers.  Goose feathers, with one half stripped away, were dyed and then wound around small sticks or wires.  After being bound off with wire, these “branches” were fitted in holes drilled in a central wooden dowel that acted as the trunk.  They were mostly sold in white or shades of green, but were also available in more exotic colors like this blue one.  As they evolved, some came with small berries (that cleverly served the dual purpose of providing a solution to the tricky wrapping at the end of the branch), while smaller versions appear in the hands and packs of Santa figurines.  Fancy versions, like the one pictured above, often had musical rotating bases.  After that, the mass market machine kicked into drive, and aluminum, PVC and fiber optic trees couldn’t be far behind!

Originally published on December 4, 2009

As small children, most of us were likely threatened with lumps of coal or switches in our stockings,  but for the most part, modern-day Christmas celebrations focus far more on the nice than on the naughty.  This wasn’t always the case, and our jovial 20th-century Saint Nick and his comical elfin sidekicks have their roots in a much darker image: the ancient Germanic Christmas figure of Pelzsnickel, literally “furry Nicholas.”  The character of Pelznickel, known throughout Europe, followed the Germans across the Atlantic to Pennsylvania where he became Belsnickel or Belsnickle.  Crossing cultural lines, Pelznickel morphed into a variety of characters ranging from a dark, frightening whip-carrying figure in ghoulish costume to a gentle fur-clad woodsman dispensing toys and justice.  Somewhere along the line, however, he became “our” Santa and “belsnickle” became the word for a traditional Santa ornament.

Belsnickles, for the most part, are surprisingly uniform. Aside from the colorful character pictured here, who is saddled with toys and the accoutrements one might need when tramping through the woods on a snowy evening and whose uniqueness is reflected in his $25,000 price, most belsnickles take the standard form of a somber, robed Saint Nick. Occasionally, he is holding a small Christmas tree, but otherwise, the only thing that varies is the color of his robe. Not to worry, though, because his robe comes in a rainbow of colors from the traditional red or white to orange, yellow, blue, and even pink! Value is, as always, determined by condition but also by the rarity of the color of Santa’s robes. Nice or naughty, any Christmas collector can appreciate these colorful characters!