Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted December 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 19, 2022 Are there any decent Roman/ancient-related Christmas ornaments out there? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted December 19, 2022 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted December 19, 2022 I saw one of the Colosseum on Amazon. Sold out though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrachyEnjoyer Posted December 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 19, 2022 (edited) Are you asking about ornaments from antiquity or modern day ornaments decorated with the theme of antiquity? If the former, the kinds of decorations you find might be rather ghastly. The pagan Germanic peoples would have ornamented their trees with the sacrifices of people and animals. If you are seeking to replicate this theme at home, some family members may not be happy with living remains offered in front of your tree. Some of the historical sacred grove examples conveniently located on Wikipedia are: Grove of the Semnones Possibly northern Germany According to Tacitus, the Semnones, a populous and powerful Germanic people, allowed none to enter the grove without being fettered and blindfolded. If the blindfolded falls, they must crawl out of the grove. There they venerated what Tacitus refers to as "regnator omnium deus" and regularly gather to execute a human sacrifice. (See grove of fetters.)[17] Grove of Baduhenna Ancient Frisia According to Roman senator Tacitus in his first century CE work Annals, the Frisians dismembered 900 Roman soldiers in a grove dedicated to the goddess in 28 CE. Thankfully mostly of these groves were abolished. In some/many cases, churches were built on top of the sites once used for human sacrifices and other nefarious worship. Charles the Great/Charlemagne destroys Irminsul Some of the pagan traditions remain…we still bring trees into our homes (although I would wager most people no longer consider them sacred…only sacrilegious if put up before thanksgiving!) Edited December 19, 2022 by TheTrachyEnjoyer 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicMan Posted December 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 19, 2022 37 minutes ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said: Are you asking about ornaments from antiquity or modern day ornaments decorated with the theme of antiquity? If the former, the kinds of decorations you find might be rather ghastly. The pagan Germanic peoples would have ornamented their trees with the sacrifices of people and animals. If you are seeking to replicate this theme at home, some family members may not be happy with living remains offered in front of your tree. Some of the historical sacred grove examples conveniently located on Wikipedia are: Grove of the Semnones Possibly northern Germany According to Tacitus, the Semnones, a populous and powerful Germanic people, allowed none to enter the grove without being fettered and blindfolded. If the blindfolded falls, they must crawl out of the grove. There they venerated what Tacitus refers to as "regnator omnium deus" and regularly gather to execute a human sacrifice. (See grove of fetters.)[17] Grove of Baduhenna Ancient Frisia According to Roman senator Tacitus in his first century CE work Annals, the Frisians dismembered 900 Roman soldiers in a grove dedicated to the goddess in 28 CE. Thankfully mostly of these groves were abolished. In some/many cases, churches were built on top of the sites once used for human sacrifices and other nefarious worship. Charles the Great/Charlemagne destroys Irminsul Some of the pagan traditions remain…we still bring trees into our homes (although I would wager most people no longer consider them sacred…only sacrilegious if put up before thanksgiving!) Nefarious for some, spiritual for others 😆 Though I did read on /r/askhistorians that modern Christmas has basically nothing to do with the old pagan traditions, I can try and find the thread if you are interested. As for OP, I would look on etsy, I picked up a tree ornament that looks like the leaning tower of Piza, it was hand crafted though and idk where it is (still need to put up the tree), but honestly you can find just about everything there, can't believe that there would not be some Roman themed decorations though you might have to browse a bit. In case you don't find anything explicitly ancient themed, you could put an eagle as top decoration for example (also, angels are technically Roman themed in a way since they resemble Victory and actual angels were used on Roman coins too, though I know that is not exactly what you mean). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTrachyEnjoyer Posted December 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 19, 2022 Just now, ComicMan said: Nefarious for some, spiritual for others I think human sacrifice can generally be agreed as poor practice! 1 minute ago, ComicMan said: Though I did read on /r/askhistorians that modern Christmas has basically nothing to do with the old pagan traditions, I can try and find the thread if you are interested. Agreed. The tree is one interesting aspect, but its not as if that is an important aspect in Christmas. Rather, it is more a cultural impetus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicMan Posted December 19, 2022 · Member Share Posted December 19, 2022 1 minute ago, TheTrachyEnjoyer said: I think human sacrifice can generally be agreed as poor practice! Yeah, it was a joke, these ancient cultures were really something. At least when we ritually sacrifice animals we call it a chicken nugget 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted December 20, 2022 · Member Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 I meant modern Roman or ancient-themed ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limes Posted December 20, 2022 · Supporter Share Posted December 20, 2022 You can hang this helmet in your tree, or where ever you want: https://www.holyart.co.uk/christmas/christmas-tree-decorations/blown-glass-ornaments/roman-helmet-blown-glass-christmas-tree-decoration?gclid=Cj0KCQiA14WdBhD8ARIsANao07g7y_wAAmwSEwIe4Ev3vBqe-23VbLYYPyfh0uuJAF7rlU6_M73_h8waArq5EALw_wcB (I have no idea what kind of shop this is, and I dont have that helmet.) Or just put up some garlands. The romans did it: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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