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St. Nicholas Eve Brings Vintage Ornaments to Mind

Written by: Kevin Milaeger

December 5th, 2024

Those of you who have been reading my blogs for a while may remember that tonight is my favorite night of the year. St. Nicholas Eve, for me, is truly the start of the Christmas season. By now, the temperatures have usually dropped so it feels like winter, and we often have at least a little snow by this time. We hear Christmas music being played at many places, many of us have our trees up and decorated, and people are generally in a better mood. So we have a little dinner at our house, with our son and his family. Nowadays its all about the grandkids, so that’s lots of fun. I’ll be making borscht once again, an excellent light dish for a cold evening.

Smaller European Santas

Larger European Santas

Fittingly, we’ve gathered a number of vintage Santa ornaments. Most of these are from Germany. I think its remarkable how many different Santa ornaments there are. Most have him wearing the traditional red suit, but we occasionally see other colors. All are delightful.

Unsilvered WWII Era American

At this time of year I am always saddened a little by the historical date of December 7, and our subsequent entry into WWII. With that in mind, we are offering a number of “unsilvered” ornaments once again. Once the war started, certain materials were hard to come by because they were needed for the war effort. One was mercury, which was used to coat the inside of many ornaments. Since that material was unavailable, ornaments from that period (both American and European) were transparent. Initially, they were clear, with some striping for decoration. Later, the manufacturers used colored glass, but the ornaments were still transparent. Striping was the most common decoration, with occasional polka dots, flowers, and other motifs. Some manufacturers inserted a sprig of tinsel into the ornament, to dress it up. The tinsel ornaments are particularly sought after.

Linz and Similar 1

Linz and Similar 2

Some years after the war the Linz company of Germany started producing an interesting line of ornaments. They still produce them to this day. These are fairly large ornaments, clear, with foil (usually gold) in the center, in the shape of something Christmassy, such as an angel or a Christmas tree. Other companies made clear ornaments of a similar nature, and we include them all in the same category. Those “other companies” are unknown to us, and I suspect they many have been made in other countries, such as Italy. These are all wonderful. I like them because they allow the tree lights to shine through them.

Polish Indents

We also have a number of indents (reflectors) that we just received. I think indents might be the most popular kind of vintage ornaments here at Milaeger’s. The size, shape, and color combinations are seemingly endless. Most are from Poland.

Assorted European

The last group is a miscellany of interesting ornaments. These all happen to be from Europe, and include a crown, a dirigible, a doll, a lantern, an angel, and many others. I think the best trees are decorated with a miscellany of many ornaments—something that appeals to every Christmas enthusiast. Happy St. Nicholas Eve everyone!

Please email me if you have any questions or comments. If you are interested in purchasing ornaments pictured in this blog, please contact Nick at 262.693.2040 x101 or info@milaegers.com.

St. Nicholas Eve Brings Vintage Ornaments to Mind

Smaller European Santas

Larger European Santas

Unsilvered WWII Era American

Linz and Similar 1

Linz and Similar 2

Polish Indents

Assorted European

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