Collectible and Vintage Christmas Bells

We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
The tradition of ringing bells at Christmas evolved from an ancient pagan winter rite in which people rang bells or made noise to frighten off the evil spirits who were thought to bring bad fortune and disease. The earliest bells were cup-shaped...
Continue reading
The tradition of ringing bells at Christmas evolved from an ancient pagan winter rite in which people rang bells or made noise to frighten off the evil spirits who were thought to bring bad fortune and disease. The earliest bells were cup-shaped and had to be struck to make a sound. Later, ancient peoples developed bells with an internal clapper. Besides frightening demons, Sumerian, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians found another utilitarian purpose for small bells. When attached to horses, camels, and mules, they alerted unsuspecting pedestrians a rider was approaching. The casting of large bells began in Europe around the 4th or 5th century. Bronze bells would be hung in church towers and rang to call villagers to services and big events. Early Christians may have rung bells to alert demons to the birth of Jesus Christ the savior and the joy that brought the righteous. Traditionally, bells were rung on Christmas Eve to announce the start of the holiday service. Church bells were also rung to announce births, marriages, and funerals. On the secular side, they were rung to signal a New Year or warn the village of danger. In 1510, the first set of carillon bells was introduced by a jester performing outside a Flanders town hall. Founders in the Low Countries continued to develop the carillon bells until they emerged as a full-fledged tuned musical instrument in 1644, the first of which was placed in a Dutch wine tower. These instruments were quickly adopted by churches, who used them for their Christmas celebrations. Some form of small, round bells called "jingle bells" or "crotal bells" were developed in 13th-century England. These were first made of a flower-shaped piece of sheet-metal bent into a ball containing a solid metal sphere or rod that "jingles" when you shake it. Others were made from two small sheets of metal molded into cup shapes and soldered together. Soon, knights started attaching crotal bells to their horses. In the 16th...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

Bohemian Christmas Decorations
This simple site showcases over 500 artistic Gablonz glass bead antique and vintage Christmas...
Old Soviet Christmas Cards
This site showcases over 1000 old Soviet Christmas and New Years cards from 1950 to 1990. Browse...
Papa Teds Place
The late Theodore H. Althof, Jr's beautiful collection of vintage dimestore cardboard Christmas...
Most Watched

Best of the Web

Bohemian Christmas Decorations
This simple site showcases over 500 artistic Gablonz glass bead antique and vintage Christmas...
Old Soviet Christmas Cards
This site showcases over 1000 old Soviet Christmas and New Years cards from 1950 to 1990. Browse...
Papa Teds Place
The late Theodore H. Althof, Jr's beautiful collection of vintage dimestore cardboard Christmas...