Christmas Ornaments From Around the World

The red sphere is from Las Vegas

The embroidered fish

from China

A few years ago I did a post about my Christmas ornaments.  Whenever we travel I purchase at least one Christmas ornament from each destination.  Those are my favorite souvenirs.  I only see them once a year when the tree is up.  But when we are putting them on the tree I remember where I bought it and I remember the trip.  I originally wrote the article in 2012.  Since then we have traveled to many more places and I have added to the decorations.  I have to say that my tree is running out of room for many more.  It is a 10 1/2 ft. tree, but it is getting very full.  The decorations are not all from my travels.  Over the years friends have given me ornaments and I have some that I made.  I also put glass balls on the tree because they reflect the light and fill in spaces.  But my favorite decorations are always from places I have visited.

Below is the posting I did in 2011.  Then below that is a new posting from this year with pictures of some of the ornaments I have collected since then. 

Christmas ornaments are one of the best ways to express the cheer and meaning of the holidays in one of the simplest ways. The different themes and feelings can be conveyed merely through Christmas ornaments. A history of love and connections spoken in ornaments, hanging upon the boughs of pine-scented greenery.

Capiz Shell Angel from the PI

In a recent posting I talked about buying souvenirs.  I always tell myself I will not buy more stuff on my next trip, and inevitably I end up buying something.  My biggest weakness is Christmas ornaments, which I have collected for years, from every place I have ever visited.  It started in the Philippines when we lived there in 1979.  Up until that time my tree always just had lights and the standard balls hanging on the tree.  Then I discovered the capiz shell and hand-embroidered ornaments of the Philippines.  They were beautiful.  And my collection started.

Since then I have added to my collection.  I have a very eclectic assortment of ornaments.  I never buy something that says where it is from.  I don’t want a tree that screams tourist shop.  Even though the ornament doesn’t say anywhere on it where it is from, I can tell you where each came from.  It is part of my memories of my trip.

Silk Elephant from Thailand
The Celtic horn is from Ireland

It has sometimes been difficult to find an ornament to bring home.  Quite often we travel during the summer months, and most places do not have Christmas ornaments out in the middle of summer.  And then there are the countries where Christmas is not really celebrated.  For instance, I had a hard time finding a Christmas ornament in Thailand.  But I did find some small silk elephants in a shop, and they hang on the tree quite nicely.

Camel from Turkey
The feather ornament is a Dream Catcher from Alaska

In Turkey, last year, I was looking
for an ornament, and ended up buying a small camel which has an opening on his back, which can be a small compartment to hold something.  It is metal, and fairly heavy.  It does not have a hangar, but I was able to rig a ribbon through the magnetic opening on the back.

Nutcracker from
Germany

When we were in the Canary Islands in September 2003, I kept looking for an ornament.  The last week we were there I found a small frog with lights wrapped around him.  It also doesn’t have a hangar, but I wire him onto the branches. 

Quite a few of my ornaments are from our trip to the Christmas Markets of Germany, Austria, Hungary and The Czech Republic.  We did a cruise down the Danube, stopping at different Christmas Markets along the way.  I bought ornaments at every stop. 

Some of my favorite ornaments that I put on the tree each year are:

My angel from Rome, Italy

The pewter wreath from Athens, Greece

Straw Angel from Hong Kong

Straw angels from Hong Kong
Victorian girl on an old fashioned bicycle
     from London
The Cloisonné heart from Beijing, China
The fur clad bear paddling a canoe from Alaska
The alligator from New Orleans
Red glass bauble from Las Vegas
     (it's Las Vegas gaudy)
My pickle from Germany – it is a tradition
      in Germany that whoever finds the pickle
     on the tree first, gets to open a
     special present.

As I have said, my tree is very eclectic.  I also have glass balls, and lots of lights, and I have had friends give me ornaments over the years, so those are mixed in as well. 



Mozart Bear from Salzburg

Panda from China

The goat is from Slovenia

Frog from the Canary Islands, Pewter Wreath from Greece
Reindeer is from PI

In the 4 years since I wrote this article we have traveled many places.  And even though my tree is getting very full, I am still buying ornaments.  They are the best souvenirs of my trips.  Some places have been easy to find Christmas ornaments, others not so easy.  We were in Africa in April 2013.  We were on safari and not in any big cities, so I wasn't sure I would find anything. Then while visiting a village in the Masai Mara I found 2 very different ornaments for sell.  Here are those ornaments.

The ball is hand carved with animals.  The other is beads on wire. They were both made as Christmas decorations.

Gulah
Australia

We visited Australia and New Zealand and had no problem finding decorations there.  I had to have a koala, since I was actually able to hold one while there.  And the bird is a galah bird which we saw many of while in Australia.  In New Zealand I had to have a Pukeko, which is a blue flightless bird, which we also saw many of.

In Costa Rica we saw so many butterflies that I decided my ornament had to have a butterfly on it.

And a few other places we visited in the past few years,  From Portugal - the seahorse, Barcelona - the mosaic lizard, Paris - at the Opera House I got the Mouse King and from Amsterdam, a small windmill.  

Next year we have trips planned to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Italy, so I am sure I will be adding to my collection in those places.  Merry Christmas, Happy Travels to everyone in 2017!

Christmas Destinations

"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas."
WC Jones

 

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence
of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."
Burton Hillis

Holidays are a time for staying home, especially if your family is in the same area as you.  I know a lot of people have to travel at Christmas, just to be with the ones they love.  But if you all live in the same area, then you will probably be home for the holidays.  But even so, there are day trips you can take around the holidays, that will put you in the Christmas spirit.

Hotel Del in Coronado, Calif.

Here in southern California we have several places that are famous for Christmas.  We live in San Diego, and we have the Hotel Del Coronado.  It has become a tradition in our family to go to the Hotel Del (as it is known locally) during the Christmas holidays, just to see the decorations.  They have the hotel lighted during the Christmas season, and there is a huge tree in the lobby area, which is several stories high.  Every year the decorations are different.  On the 6th of January they actually sell those decorations to the public, but you have to be in line early to get them, as they are very popular.  I have some decorations on my tree that came from the Del, and they are favorites of mine. 

Riverside, California is only a few hours from San Diego and is also a great Christmas destination.  There is a hotel in Riverside called the Mission Inn.  It is designed after the old missions that are located in California.  The hotel is a wonderful place to visit any time of the year, but at Christmas it is decorated for the holidays and is a fun place to go and explore.  It will certainly put you in the holiday mood.  And the streets surrounding the Mission Inn are filled with antique shops and other types of unusual shops, all of which are also decorated.  It is a great place to get some of your holiday shopping done.



Christmas in Leavenworth, Washington

I grew up in Washington state and I visit up there at least once a year.  There is a town in Washington that is known for its Christmas spirit.  The town is Leavenworth.  This Bavarian themed city is located in the central part of Washington State and provides all the necessary ingredients for a fun-filled time during the winter months and holiday season. You’re sure to find plenty of snow, kids sledding in the heart of town, horse-drawn sleigh rides. live holiday music, shops serving warm treats, and of course, plenty of Christmas lights.

Living in southern California I do have a hard time feeling like it is Christmas, because quite often it is warm enough to spend the day at the beach. I grew up where it was cold at Christmas, quite often snow on the ground.  There is a part of me that still feels like it should be cold on Christmas , but just for Christmas eve and Christmas day, then it can go back to warm weather. 

Christmas in New York

Last year my girl-friend and I decided to leave our husbands at home for a few days and head to New York, about 2 weeks before Christmas.  I had been to New York before, but never at Christmas.  I found New York to be a wonderful place to get in the holiday spirt.  It felt more like Christmas, because the weather was cold, although we didn't get any snow.  We saw the Rockettes Christmas show as well as a Broadway play.  We took in the lights and the tree at Rockefeller Center, and we considered going ice skating.  There are Christmas Markets in New York also, which were fun to visit.  It was a great way to start off the holiday season. To read about our trip to New York at Christmas, go to:  http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/p/christmas-trip-to-new-york-december.html

Christmas Market in Nuremberg, Germany

Speaking about Christmas Markets, I have taken two trips to Europe during the Christmas season, to visit the Christmas Markets.  If you ever have the opportunity to do this, I highly recommend it.  Especially if you are into Christmas.  I am not at all religious, and am quite open about it.  But I do love Christmas, it is part of my childhood memories, part of our traditions.  I don't celebrate in a religious way, but I do celebrate, and it is my favorite holiday.  Besides, if you know anything about history, then you know that there is no way that the Christ child could have been born in December, it had to be in the summer months.  There used to be a pagan holiday in December, and the Christians decided to have there highest holiday celebration to coincide with that, with the idea of taking it over and turning the pagans into  Christians.  For the most part it worked.  The pagan side has the tree, the Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, etc.  Combine that with all of the Christian symbols of the manager and such, and you have todays Christmas.  I personally celebrate more the pagan side. But whatever your beliefs, if you like Christmas, then you will love the Christmas Markets, especially those in Germany.  If you would like to read more about the Christmas Markets, go to:
http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/p/christmas-market-trip-december-2006.html or http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-markets.html



Christmas in Colonial
Williamsburg

I remember years ago when we lived in Virginia, we went to Williamsburg at Christmas time.  They had the whole town decorated with Christmas wreaths and holly and they told us about the early settlers Christmas traditions.  They still hold their holiday celebrations in Williamsburg, and it would be a great place to go and experience Christmas the way our ancestors did.  There are historic houses with circles of greenery dotted on doors and windows, roasted chestnuts in an open-air market and much more. The jingling of real bells on horse drawn carriages will get you in the spirit, and you might even want to march with the colonial fifes and drums corps and let the crisp early evening chill envelope you. And you can learn about Christmas through a Jamestown settler, or a battle-weary Revolutionary War Soldier, or even a colonial farmer. For more information, go to: http://visitwilliamsburg.com/williamsburg-attractions/christmas-in-williamsburg

This year I am heading to Washington for part of my holidays.  My mom is 94 and she lives in a retirement home.  She won't travel, she says she just doesn't feel up to it, so I can't bring her here for the holidays.  For the past few Christmas' she has spent the day without family.  She has friends at the home, and she says she is fine with that.  My sister lives in Seattle, and she always gets down close to Christmas to see her, but not on the day.  So, this year we will spend Christmas eve here with our family, opening presents and doing our traditional Christmas eve stuff.  On Christmas day, my daughter and I are flying to Washington.  We should (if there are no delays because of weather) get to her place in time for the Christmas dinner at the retirement home.  We will spend a few days with her and celebrate the holidays together.  After all, my childhood memories of Christmas are all about her and my family.  I'm looking forward to our time together.

So, whatever your Christmas traditions, consider making a day trip, or a longer trip, that will get you in the mood, and give you that holiday feeling.  Go visit an area that has special decorations, or go a holiday show.   And have a Happy Holiday!

Souvenir Series - Christmas Ornaments From Around the World

Christmas ornaments are one of the best ways to express the cheer and meaning of the holidays in one of the simplest ways. The different themes and feelings can be conveyed merely through Christmas ornaments. A history of love and connections spoken in ornaments, hanging upon the boughs of pine-scented greenery.

Capiz Shell Angel from the PI

In a recent posting I talked about buying souvenirs.  I always tell myself I will not buy more stuff on my next trip, and inevitably I end up buying something.  My biggest weakness is Christmas ornaments, which I have collected for years, from every place I have ever visited.  It started in the Philippines when we lived there in 1979.  Up until that time my tree always just had lights and the standard balls hanging on the tree.  Then I discovered the capiz shell and hand-embroidered ornaments of the Philippines.  They were beautiful.  And my collection started.

Since then I have added to my collection.  I have a very eclectic assortment of ornaments.  I never buy something that says where it is from.  I don’t want a tree that screams tourist shop.  Even though the ornament doesn’t say anywhere on it where it is from, I can tell you where each came from.  It is part of my memories of my trip.

Silk Elephant from Thailand
The Celtic horn is from Ireland

It has sometimes been difficult to find an ornament to bring home.  Quite often we travel during the summer months, and most places do not have Christmas ornaments out in the middle of summer.  And then there are the countries where Christmas is not really celebrated.  For instance, I had a hard time finding a Christmas ornament in Thailand.  But I did find some small silk elephants in a shop, and they hang on the tree quite nicely.

Camel from Turkey
The feather ornament is a Dream Catcher from Alaska

In Turkey, last year, I was looking for an ornament, and ended up buying a small camel which has an opening on his back, which can be a small compartment to hold something.  It is metal, and fairly heavy.  It does not have a hangar, but I was able to rig a ribbon through the magnetic opening on the back.

Nutcracker from
Germany

When we were in the Canary Islands in September 2003, I kept looking for an ornament.  The last week we were there I found a small frog with lights wrapped around him.  It also doesn’t have a hangar, but I wire him onto the branches. 

Quite a few of my ornaments are from our trip to the Christmas Markets of Germany, Austria, Hungary and The Czech Republic.  We did a cruise down the Danube, stopping at different Christmas Markets along the way.  I bought ornaments at every stop. 

Some of my favorite ornaments that I put on the tree each year are:

My angel from Rome, Italy

The pewter wreath from Athens, Greece


Straw Anget from Hong Kong

Straw angels from Hong Kong
Victorian girl on an old fashioned bicycle
     from London
The Cloisonné heart from Beijing, China
The fur clad bear paddling a canoe from Alaska
The alligator from New Orleans
Red glass bauble from Las Vegas
     (it's Las Vegas gaudy)
My pickle from Germany – it is a tradition
      in Germany that whoever finds the pickle
     on the tree first, gets to open a
     special present.

As I have said, my tree is very eclectic.  I also have glass balls, and lots of lights, and I have had friends give me ornaments over the years, so those are mixed in as well.  But my favorites are the ones that remind me of places I have traveled.

Angel from the Philippines

Angel from Rome



Mozart Bear from Salzburg

The goat is from Slovenia, the little frog
 I bought in the Canary Islands
and the donkey is from Croatia
 



Pewter Wreath from Greece
Reindeer is from PI

Panda from China

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Glass Bauble from Las Vegas
The embroderied Fish is from China

 

Christmas in New York

Hi everyone, Just got home from a few days in New York City with a friend.  I wrote up our adventures and posted some pictures.  If you are interested in reading about our trip, go to the side column, just below Baxter and Sadie's picture.  You will see a section titled: Trip Reports from Trips we Have Taken.  The last one on that list is our most recent adventure in New York.  We had a great time, and enjoyed the holiday decorations and the Christmas Markets.

Christmas Markets

A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, Austria and Alsace but are now being held in many other countries.

 

As a travel agent you sometimes see advertisements of things you had never really thought about doing, and the reaction is “I want to do that.”  In 2000, a flyer came across my desk for a trip to “The Christmas Markets of Germany and Austria.” It was a tour being sponsored by AAA, the company I worked for. I just had to do it. I had some vacation time coming, and I was so excited about it.

I went home and told my husband, and he really didn't get at all excited. It sounded like a shopping trip to him. He said, why don't you find a friend to go with. I immediately called Bonnie. She had been my roommate back in my college years and we were still best friends. She thought it sounded like fun and said yes. So we went.



Nuremberg Christmas Market

We flew to Frankfurt where the tour started and we traveled by bus down what the Germans call “the romantic road”, with stops at quite a few Christmas Markets. The biggest of the markets is in Nuremberg, and it was pretty fantastic, but even the smaller towns that we stopped at were great.  One of the best stops was in Rothenburg which is home to Kathe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store.



What are Christmas Markets?  Every town in Germany and Austria has a town square. In the town square at Christmastime, they set up a huge tree, and stalls.  And there are people singing carols. But the smells of the food is what hit me first. There are stalls that are serving the German sausages on rolls, and stalls making spiced nuts.  





And then there is the gingerbread. Lots of gingerbread stalls. And best of all, the hot Gluhwein. That is a spicy hot wine drink. Since it is cold out, just holding onto the mug is great. And talking about the mug, when you purchase the drink you get to keep the mug – they are great souvenirs. The mugs are a dark blue ceramic and each city has a different design logo on their mug. I have a whole set of them, and at Christmastime I serve hot Gluhwein or Tom & Jerry's in them.

The stalls also sell anything and everything you could possibly want to give someone for a Christmas present, as well as the best ornaments of all time. My weakness is the ornaments. For years I have made it a point to buy at least one Christmas ornament wherever I travel. That is not always easy if you are traveling to a country in the summertime, but I find something. I don't want something commercial that says where it is from, but something that will remind me of the trip when I hang it on the tree. As an example, while in the Canary Islands in September, I kept looking for an ornament. There were none to be had. But finally I found the cutest little frog, and he had a string of lights wrapped around him. He's just little, and doesn't have a string to hang from, so I wire him onto a branch each year, and when I do, I think of that trip.

While at the Christmas markets, I have to admit that I went a little crazy and bought lots of ornaments. Some I gave as gifts, but a lot of them go on my tree.

The trip included stops in Munich, as well as Salzburg and Innsbruck. We spent one afternoon taking a gondola to the top of one of the mountains in the Alps. Every city included a city tour, so we really did lots more then just go to Christmas Markets. It was a great trip. And we got a little snow, something that I rarely see anymore, since I live in Southern California. Bonnie lives in Washington state, so for her it was not a big deal.

When we got home from that trip and told about our adventures, our husbands both said that it sounded like fun and they wished they had gone. So in 2005 we returned to the markets as a foursome. The guys agreed they'd have a beer while we shopped. Although Bonnie's husband made the comment that there probably wasn't enough beer in Germany to cover the time while we shopped.
 



Regensburg Medieval Christmas Market

On that trip we actually started in Prague, then went over to Nuremberg and took a river cruise down the Danube all the way to Budapest. That was the way to travel, no packing and unpacking. The Christmas Markets in Prague and Budapest were quite nice, and of course we had been to the Nuremberg market before, but it is the most famous and a must stop if you are doing the markets. In the small town or Regensburg we had our most memorable market experience. The main market in the town square was very ordinary, and that is where most people from our cruise went. But I had read about a market that the locals went to, on the grounds of the palace. They said that the royalty actually mingled with the people at this market, and that the theme was medieval. There was an entrance fee to get into it, but it was different from the other markets, and if you should decide to do a markets tour or cruise and find yourself in Regensburg I would suggest giving it a try, it was quite different and fun.


Booth at Regensburg Market



Both times we went to the Christmas markets we came home loaded down with mugs from the Gluhwein, gingerbread, spiced nuts, and lots of fun ornaments and gifts. A great way to get yourself in the holiday mood, and you can do it and still come home and have Christmas with the family. The Christmas Markets start in early December and go through the holidays.

---------------------------

One of the ornaments that I bought on my trip to Germany was a glass pickle.  For those of you who may not know about a pickle as an ornament, it is a traditional ornament for the Germans.  Here is the Christmas pickle tradition:

The glass pickle ornament is an old German tradition. It has become a welcomed addition to the present unwrapping dilemma of who is first. The pickle ornament is supposed to be the last ornament you hang on the tree. It should be hidden among the branches in an out of the way location. On Christmas when you are ready to open the presents everyone should search for the pickle. The first person to find the pickle receives a special prize, a piece of candy or some other token. They are also the first to start opening the gifts. The pickle has become a keepsake, which is handed down to future generations

To Read more about Christmas Markets you can go to the link - Trip Reports from trips we have taken - in the column to the right and click on Chrisktmas Market trip December 2006.  The trip report is from the emails my husband sent home to family and friends while we were traveling.