Woolworth’s introduced America to glass yuletide ornaments

Christmas as we know it in America began in 1880 at the first Woolworth’s five-and-dime store in Lancaster, Pa., when a box of blown-glass ornaments from Germany was put on sale. 

Paul Seaton, a British historian and creator of the virtual Woolworth’s Museum in London, tells the story: 

Bernhard Wilmsen, a traveling salesman from Germany, called on storeowner Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster in the fall of 1880. Wilmsen was peddling glass Christmas ornaments, individually blown, mind you, by German craftsman from the village of Lauscha. 

Frank Winfield Woolworth

Wilmsen said these ornaments were “all the rage” in Europe, as people were choosing glass ornaments to decorate their homes at Christmas. Woolworth responded that “Americans would not waste money on them because they didn’t ‘do’ anything.” 

In the end, he relented and bought one case – 12 dozen – of the decorations. 

Much to his surprise, all 144 decorations sold out in less than a day, yielding an overall profit of $4.32 (3 cents apiece). The next year, Woolworth doubled the order, and sold out again. He had found a winner. 

“To push home the advantage, Frank Woolworth placed most of his orders with a single supplier,” Seaton reported. And Wilmsen benefited immensely. “It is estimated that total sales between 1880 and 1939 exceeded a staggering 500 million individual baubles.” 

In 1939, at the age of 81, Wilmsen said: “I grew with Woolworth. I have sold them at least $25 million worth of Christmas tree ornaments. I have a big factory. I have 255 people working to fill Woolworth orders. I am the oldest Woolworth supplier.”

 

Christmas decorations became big business for Woolworth’s, and the Christmas season was one of the reasons Woolworth’s became an American retail icon, influencing generations of shoppers. 

To complete the story, Lauscha’s first glassblowers were Christoph Müller and Hans Greiner. 

Then, in 1847, another Hans Greiner (a descendent of the first Hans) introduced the idea of producing glass Christmas ornaments in the shape of fruits and nuts and other foods, instead of hanging the real items on their evergreens. 

Perhaps one of those glassy German food ornaments was a green pickle that would be difficult to see when tucked into an inner bough, giving rise to a great holiday legend. 

One source says: “A very old Christmas Eve tradition in Germany was to hide a pickle ornament deep in the branches of the family Christmas tree. The parents hung the pickle last after all the other ornaments were in place…and after the children went to bed. The first child to find the pickle on Christmas morning gets a special treat or an extra present from St. Nicholas.” 

It’s largely a myth, but leave it to Danny Lipford, the home improvement guy. “Once we heard the legend, we adopted the tradition, and the pickle has a place of well-hidden honor on our tree each year.” 

“We don’t save the game for Christmas morning – instead, the pickle gets hidden right away, and visitors are invited to find it and claim their prize,” Lipford said. “I don’t know what it is about pickles, but the game captures everyone’s imagination. Competition is sometimes fierce among adults, and children love to find it over and over again.” 

“Sometimes the silliest traditions are the best ones,” Lipford said, “and the pickle is a ‘dilly’ of a game, guaranteed to get the whole family gathered around the tree laughing within minutes. Just make sure your prize basket is well-stocked!”