Of all the things one could conceivably decorate a Christmas tree with, how did glass globes become so universal as to now be iconic as THE Christmas tree decoration?
They are something that is difficult to make by hand, so buying them is something of an advertisement of wealth.
On the other hand, for an industrial society, they are easy to mass-produce, so they are cheap and easy to obtain.
They are brighter and shinier than most handmade ornaments.
They are lightweight, so they don’t make the tree branches sag.
They were started as ornaments in Germany and introduced to England by Queen Victoria, who also popularised Christmas trees.
F W Woolworth introduced them to America and the rest is history.
It came from Bertie, her German husband.
Of course it was from Albert’s influence, but Queen Vic was in charge.
I like 'em because they reflect the lights on the tree making it more sparkly.
I saw a house in Denver that had on giant xmas tree ball hanging on a regular tree in their front yard. I like it, easy, and done with. And has a certain panache.
Isn’t the Xmas tree pagan in origin? Yule tree and all that? It was my understanding that the glass balls used(aside from what was already said) were meant to represent apples or some such fruit.