Christmas Pyramids!
Christmas pyramids are yet another one of my favorite Christmas decorations.
It is unknown when they originated, but it is thought as early as the 1500s from the Erzgebirge region in Germany.
How do they work?
The heat from the candles rise, causing the blades above to spin. In a dimly lit room, the figures dance on the ceiling and walls.
They come in all sizes.
Here are mine:
The rabbit one is powered only by wind. Set him under a heating vent and he will turn!
The one below is one I got at an estate sale. I have never seen anything like him before.
I don’t know his age, probably at least 1960s or older.
The candles provide the power, and then when the fan turns it rings a bell. I had this one sitting under a vent… it turned annoying very quickly!
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| antique pyramid |
Here is my kitty cat wind powered pyramid:
My “big” pyramid, a single tier, sits in the center of the table. I never took a picture directly of this one!
A sampling of single tier pyramids:
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| By Christian Ulbricht, love how the birds fly above |
Another single tier pyramid. Single tier are the most popular.
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| a more modern pyramid, I like how it resembles a palm tree |
Now, double tier!
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| a very fancy pyramid |
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| another double tier! from Kathe Wohlfahrt |
And now… THREE tier!
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| three tiers! |
Three tiers not big enough? How about… FOUR TIERS!
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| from Kathe Wohlfahrt |
another 4 tier….
oh my goodness, FIVE TIERS! They had to add another tier of candles to power this baby!
Not big enough for you? You can buy a 6 tier pyramid! (Note, this one is electric!)
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| a colorful large pyramid |
And of course, the Germans have a really big pyramid in the center of a Chriskindlmarkt. How cool is that?!
And, another German city has a large pyramid as well.
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| a very large pyramid! |
What size pyramid do you want to have? I am thinking either a 3 or 4 tier pyramid for me. The question is, go for the painted colorful ones or go for the natural wood ones? Another question, Nativity themed or Winter themed? What do you think? Help me decide!
Images from Erzgebirge Palace unless otherwise noted. These are all for sale, I highly recommend visiting their website and checking them out. (I have no financial interests in this company).
