Anno MMXXVI · Glück auf!About the GuildGlossaryEnglishDeutsch

A chronicle of woodcraft from the Ore Mountains

Contents

  1. IThe Ore Mountains
  2. IIFrom Ore to Wood
  3. IIIThe Craft
  4. IVThe Workshops
  5. VThe Pieces
  6. VIChristmas
  7. VIIStories
  8. Your Piece
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For everyone with a piece from the Erzgebirge

Your Piece: Use & Care

How to use and care for a piece from the Erzgebirge: what its maker’s sticker means, how to light it safely, and how to keep it for many Christmases. If you have just unpacked one, welcome, and Glück auf!

Each kind of piece has a short note below, with a link to the full guide on its own page. Further down are the questions that apply to every piece: fire safety, incense smoke, electric lights, cleaning and repairs.

Hands lift a wooden smoker in black uniform out of tissue paper and wood wool in a plain cardboard box.
A smoker lifted out of tissue paper and wood wool.

The maker’s sticker

Every piece in an Erzgebirge Guild box carries a sticker naming the workshop that made it, usually a small family business in the Erzgebirge. We don’t list the workshops on this site; their names stay with their work, on the piece itself.

Please leave the sticker on. It tells you, and whoever inherits the piece one day, where and by whom it was made.

Engraved drawing of the maker's sticker on the underside of a turned base: an oval label reading „Handarbeit aus dem Erzgebirge“, with ruled lines for the workshop and its town.
Plate 1. The maker’s sticker names the workshop.

Use and care, piece by piece

The short version for each kind of piece. Follow the link for the full guide.

  • A wooden smoker in the shape of a miner in black uniform and peaked cap, holding a brass lamp, his round mouth open.

    Smokers

    Use the cone size that fits the figure: small smokers take mini cones, larger ones standard cones. Light the cone’s tip, let the flame go out so it glows, set it on the little metal plate and put the body back on. Then leave the smoker where it is, on a heat-resistant surface, and air the room afterwards.

    Read more: Smokers
  • A one-tier Christmas pyramid: a nativity on a turned platter, four white candles, a wooden vane wheel on top.

    Christmas Pyramids

    Use the candle size it was made for, most often 14 mm (about 9/16 inch). Stand it level, out of drafts, and well away from curtains, the tree and other decorations. More candles turn it faster. Never leave it burning unattended.

    Read more: Christmas Pyramids
  • A nutcracker king in a red robe and gold crown, with white beard and scepter.

    Nutcrackers

    Most nutcrackers have a working lever, but they are made as decorations, and cracking nuts leaves marks. Keep an ordinary nutcracker for the nuts.

    Read more: Nutcrackers
  • A light wooden candle arch with nine white candles; under it a cut-out village with a church, spruce trees and two small miners.

    Candle Arches

    Most arches are electric. Replace a dead bulb promptly with one of exactly the same voltage, and never mix LED and ordinary bulbs. In the United States, use only electric pieces made for 120-volt current.

    Read more: Candle Arches
  • A light-bearing pair: an angel in white with gold wings and a miner in black, each holding two white candles.

    Angels and Miners

    Candles must sit firmly in their holders; electric figures follow the same bulb rules as candle arches. Lift the figures by the body, never by wings or arms.

    Read more: Angels and Miners
  • A shaved tree of pale linden, its fine curls rising in tiers like a small spruce.

    Shaved Trees

    Lift a shaved tree by its base, dust it by blowing gently, and keep it well away from candle flames.

    Read more: Shaved Trees
  • A small group of ring-turned animals: a horse, a cow, a calf, a sheep and a goat.

    Ring-Turned Animals

    Small, with glued-on ears and tails: decorative pieces, not toys. Keep them out of the reach of small children.

    Read more: Ring-Turned Animals
Fingers hold a lit match to the tip of an incense cone on a small metal plate in a turned wooden base.
Plate 2. Lighting a cone: a match to the very tip, then blow out the flame so the tip glows.

Questions of safety

How far should a lit pyramid or candle figure be from other things?

The US Fire Administration advises keeping candles at least 12 inches (30 cm) from anything that can burn, and a Christmas tree at least 3 feet (90 cm) from candles and other heat. Stand candle pieces on a stable, heat-resistant surface, out of reach of children and pets, away from drafts, and never in a bedroom.

Can I leave a pyramid or a smoker burning while I’m out of the room?

No. Put candles out when you leave the room or go to bed, and stay near a smoker while its cone glows. In the United States, on average, about twenty home candle fires are reported every day.

Is the incense smoke safe to breathe?

Germany’s Federal Environment Agency notes that incense cones, like candles and scented oils, can release pollutants when they burn, and its advice is simple: air the room well. A German environmental advice center adds that burning incense occasionally, “such as a smoker at Christmas,” is no cause for worry; studies that found harm concern long, regular use of incense sticks.

Can I use an electric piece from Germany in my American home?

Only if it was made or converted for American current. Germany runs on 230 volts, the United States on 120, and a piece built for European current will not work properly here as it is; the maker has to build or convert it for 120 volts. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission also advises using lights that carry a testing-lab mark, such as UL or ETL, and throwing out any with broken sockets or frayed wires.

Are these pieces toys?

No. They are decorations made for adults. Keep them, and especially small or breakable parts, out of the reach of small children. US rules generally treat holiday decorations made only for display as adult products, and European toy-safety law lists decorations for festivities as “not toys.”

Incense cones of several sizes on a small white dish, one lit with a thread of smoke.
Plate 3. Incense cones come in several sizes; small smokers take the mini ones.

Cones and candles

Which incense cones does my smoker need, and why does my cone keep going out?

Both are answered in the smoker guide.

Which candles does my pyramid take, and what if it won’t turn?

See the pyramid guide for candle sizes and what to check when a pyramid won’t turn.

Thin white pyramid candles laid beside the turned candle holders of a Christmas pyramid.
Plate 4. Pyramid candles beside a pyramid’s candle holders.

Cleaning, storage and repairs

How should I clean and store my pieces?

Dust with a soft, dry brush or a soft cotton cloth; never use water or furniture polish. Light fades paint over time, so keep pieces out of strong sun. Between Christmases, store them in their original boxes in a dry room at an even temperature: attics and basements, where heat and damp come and go, are the worst places.

Something broke. Can it be repaired?

Often, yes. Spare vane wheels, glass bearings, candle holders and bulbs exist, and a repair is best done by the maker or a specialist. Write to us with a photograph and the maker’s sticker, and we will help.

A soft brush dusts the small painted figures on a pyramid's tier.
Plate 5. Dusting a pyramid’s figures with a soft, dry brush.

Sources

  1. U.S. Fire Administration, Candle fire safety
  2. U.S. Fire Administration, Holiday fire safety
  3. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Holiday Safety
  4. 16 CFR 1200.2, definition of children’s product
  5. Directive 2009/48/EC on the safety of toys, Annex I
  6. Umweltbundesamt, Grüne Weihnachten: Tipps für nachhaltige Feiertage
  7. Bremer Umwelt Beratung, Räucherstäbchen (2020)
  8. Canadian Conservation Institute, Care of furniture finishes (CCI Notes 7/2)
  9. TU Chemnitz, Why does the Christmas pyramid turn? (2013)
  10. Die Kunst zum Leben (makers’ association magazine), on the Schwibbogen (2023)