Tinsel on a tree used to be a sign of wealth, as it was made with strips of real silver

Tin is one of the decorations used to beautify the appearance of the Christmas tree.

Today, tinsel can be purchased at a low price from many retailers, but it was once much less available as an adornment that radiated wealth.

Modern tinsel is very different from the earliest forms of decoration.

Tinsel didn’t always look like it does now. It was originally made of real silver pieces. (iStock / iStock)

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Tinzel is said to have originated in Nuremberg, Germanyaround 1610, according to several sources.

At the time, tinsel was an adornment that only those of high financial status could afford, as it was created with thin strands of real silver.

The festooned Christmas trees sparkled as they reflected the candlelight.

Over the years, silver has been exchanged for other less expensive metals such as copper, tin, aluminum and lead, the BBC reports.

Christmas trees today are covered in a variety of decorations, including ornaments, twinkling lights, and tinsel. (iStock / iStock)

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According to History.com, the production of lead glitter ceased in the early 1970s when the US Food and Drug Administration advised manufacturers to use plastic.

Today’s tinsel is not made from crushed silver, but instead is produced with crushed polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC.

Tinsel still comes in shiny silver, but also in other colors, including classic Christmas hues like red and green.

Today there are even small and full size tinsel Christmas trees which is available in colors like silver, gold and even pink.

Modern tinsel comes in a variety of different colors. (iStock)

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While today’s Christmas trees can be spotted wrapped in tinsel, the product is far from the most popular to decorate Christmas trees.

Classic ornaments are the most popular way to decorate a tree in 2024, according to a Statista survey conducted between October and November. It was found that 71% of people decorate their trees with ornaments.

Lights, baubles, and candy canes were found to be widely used to decorate trees, according to Statista.

Thirty-eight percent of people decorate their tree homemade decorations, while 32% use tapes, according to Statista.

Although tinsel is still used to decorate Christmas trees today, it is not the most popular. (iStock / iStock)

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It was found that 30% of people still use tinsel to decorate their tree.