It was once one of over 1,500 manufacturers in this part of Eastern Germany, blowing glass ornaments and painting them by hand. But today, most Christmas decorations are mass-produced in China.

Plenty of myths surround the pickled-shaped Christmas ornament. The most popular story is that it’s an old German tradition .

In 1871, Johnson hired Edison, then a 24-year-old inventor ... and pretty ornaments at Macy’s. But what really made a tree a Christmas tree were the candles, and while flickering flames were ...