christmas carousels

german christmas pyramids with 1 floor

christmas candle carousels with 2 floors

christmas pyramids with 3 floors

christmas carousels with 4 floors

christmas candle carousels with 5 floors

christmas carousels with 6 floors

Christmas pyramids serve a mainly decorative purpose today, filling children and adults alike with holiday cheer.

Generally Christmas carousels are made of wood and based on four- to eight-sided platforms with a long pole in the middle serving as the axle to which the entire apparatus tapers above and which supports any further platforms. Inside in a glass or ceramic support is a driveshaft on to which at least one platform is attached. The figures, which stand on the platforms are also traditionally made of wood.

Christmas pyramids take various forms from intricately carved miniature houses with pitched roofs, to large multi-level structures that simply serve as a display for the carved figures. In many cities in the Ore Mountains there are large Christmas pyramids on the Market Square at the Christmas Market or in other locations associated with Christmas hustle and bustle.

In this category you can find all the German Cristmas pyramids and Christmas decoration, German pyramids, German candle carousels, German christmas pyramids, German candle pyramids, Erzgebirge christmas pyramids, German christmas carousels, Erzgebirge candle carousels, Erzgebirge pyramids, Erzgebirge christmas carousels

History of the German Christmas pyramid

The origins of the German Christmas pyramids date back to the Middle Ages. In this period it was traditional in southern and western Europe to bring evergreen branches, for example Boxwood into the home and hang them, in order to ward off moroseness in the dark and cold winter months. In northern and eastern Europe traditional candles were used to achieve this goal. The German Christmas pyramids would eventually unify these two traditions and become a symbol of Christmas celebrations. The forefather to the candle pyramids was a construction known as a "Lichtergestellte" (literally: thing on which lights are set) and were very popular in the 18th Century. They were constructions made of four poles, decorated with evergreen boughs, tied together at the top and lit with candles. In the large cities, the Christmas tree, now recognizable all over the world, gradually replaced the Lichtergestellte, but in the mountains, the people did not see a simple tree bedeckt with lights, rather they were reminded of the capstans, which were commonly used in the mines of the Ore Mountains. To the candle pyramids shape was added the spinning motion of the capstan and the earliest German Christmas pyramids were born.

The name "Christmas pyramids" came about because as Napoleon led his invasion of Egypt at the end of the 18th Century, the pictures of the pyramids made their way back to Europe and eventually to the Ore Mountains, where they reminded the people of the mining capstans and also of the Christmas constructions.

An important breakthrough in the popularity of the Christmas carousels came around 1830 with the discovery of kerosene. Previously, people had used relatively expensive candles or rapeseed oil. As the means to light and spin the candle pyramids became much cheaper, the tradition spread. Now such candle carousels can be found in numerous styles and sizes all over Germany as well as in many parts of the United States.