The Start of Christmas Lights
November 27th, 2009 by daverichardson1964
You might believe that Christmas lights have been around for the same time as Christmas itself. Can any of you think of Christmas without Christmas lights? How would the youngsters find their way in the darkness, so early on Christmas morning without them? The chronicle of Christmas lights is elaborately connected to the beginning of the modern era, when houses got to be supplied with electricity.
As you most probably know, Thomas A. Edison manufactured the foremost functioning electric-light bulb back in 1879. A a couple of years afterwards, in 1882, an associate of him foremost applied the use of lights on his Christmas tree. Edward Johnson was the foremost to electrically light his family Christmas tree in his New York home. His house was sited in one of the foremost sections of the city to be wired for electricity.
A visiting newsman from Detroit covered the following in “The Detroit Post and Tribune”: “Last evening I took the air over beyond Fifth Avenue and visited at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the back of the pretty living-room, was a large Christmas tree giving a most lovely and wonderful look. The tree was brilliantly lighted with a lot of colorful balls almost as huge as an English walnut and was turning several times a minute on a tiny pine box. There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass balls, and about evenly spread between white, red and blue. As the tree rotated and the colors switched, all the lamps going out and being relit at each revolution. The result was a persisting twinkling of changing colors, blue, red, white, red, blue, white – all evening.”
Edion brought out in 1890 a promotional brochure in which was expressed that “There is hardly a form of decoration more pretty and sweet than tiny incandescent bulbs placed among flowers, or interwoven in wreaths or festoons; for decorating Christmas trees or indoor gardens…”. This might have been the foremost note of commercially available electrically powered Christmas lights.
The popularity of Christmas lights exploded from there. Before long they grew synonymous with the Christmas tree and each family had them. Are you able to imagine Christmas without Christmas lights? Mr. Edison, you have given us all a present we will always cherish! I point my fuzzy red cap to you.
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Tags: Christmas, Christmas Lights, christmas morning
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