historysquee: A History of Tinsel Tinsel, although commonly believed to be a modern invention, was

historysquee:

A History of Tinsel

Tinsel, although commonly believed to be a modern invention, was actually invented in Nuremberg in 1610. Originally tinsel was made from strands of silver and used to decorate statues and not Christmas trees. It was then added to trees to make them sparkle more, with the light from the trees candles flickering off the silver. In the 20th Century, tinsel was beginning to be made out of cheaper aluminium, with France leading the production. However tinsel production was halted for the First World War. Tinsel became particularly popular in the 1950’s, substituting Christmas lights on the highly flammable artificial trees of the time. Lead foil was also used to make tinsel for a time, but this practice was stopped in the 1960’s, due to a worry of lead poisoning. Today, tinsel is made of PVC coated in a metallic covering and is widely used.