Some like a few sparkling strands on their Christmas tree to catch the eye, but, for others, the tree is barely visible under a virtual blizzard of tinsel.
Though Seinfeld’s Frank Costanza (portrayed by Jerry Stiller) stated that he “found tinsel very distracting,” the simple fact is that, for many of us, the Christmas tree just would not look the same without tinsel on it.
While it may not be as popular as it was a few decades ago, these little decorative metallic strands are one of those seemingly modern things that has actually, through one form or another, been with us for hundreds of years.
Originally, our word tinsel comes from around the 15th century, from the Old French estincelle, which means “flash or sparkle (of light)”. This definition reflects an earlier meaning involving cloth that was interwoven with gold or silver thread. Considering the similarities with what we, today, call garland, the connection from a sparkling woven fabric to a decorative cord is highly possible. Still, the modern product and definition for what we consider to be strand tinsel originated in the German city of Nuremberg around 1610.
The original German tinsel was made of extruded strands of actual silver, which explains why it was not long until other shiny metals, such as aluminium, were soon used to replace the expensive and high-maintenance precious metal.
Used in conjunction with lights on the tree to represent the starry sky around the Nativity scene, metal tinsel also meant that a family could use less candles, thus reducing the risk of fire. Having already peaked, tinsel usage has remained relatively strong and is remarkable for its longevity. American company Brite-Star, which produces 80% of the tinsel for the American market, has, since the mid-1950’s, produced enough tinsel to reach the Moon and back, approximately 1.6 billion strands.
The first known usage of the word occurs in N. H. Nicholas’ Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York, where one of the expenses is noted as, “Blake tinsel satin of the rich making,” reflecting its origin in woven fabric. Philip Stubbs’ 1583 work, The Anatomie of Abuses, tell of tinsel being used with as well as outside of fabric for decorative purposes: “Every place was hanged with cloth of gold, cloth of silver, tinsel, arrace, tapestry.” Finally, in a more unflattering usage, our word has also been used to describe instances where the glitter of tinsel is deceptive of actual worth: as Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot) wrote in Romola (1863), “An age worse than that of iron—the age of tinsel and gossamer.”
