🎄The History of Christmas Lights🎄

The following video provides a brief history of using electric lights to illuminate Christmas trees, as well as the outside of homes. Get the workbook here

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In this video:

Families across many parts of the world decorate their homes with Christmas lights. How did this become a tradition? How long has it been around?

The practice of placing candles on Christmas trees has existed for hundreds of years. It was once quite common for people to light up their homes during the winter months to escape the darkness. However, the use of electric lights for illumination is much more recent.

The first electrically illuminated Christmas tree was created by Edward H. Johnson who had red, white, and blue lights especially made for him. He displayed the tree in his New York City home in 1882.

The first commercially-produced Christmas lights were made as strands of eight lights and were manufactured by the General Electric Company. By 1900, it was becoming commonplace for businesses to string up electric lights in windows or around their buildings. However, these lights were far too expensive for the average person to use inside their homes.

Even into the 1930s, candles were still widely used in Christmas trees across the country. However, electricity continued to make it into more and more homes and electric lights became more affordable. Most families eventually made the switch to commercially-produced lights. The electric lights were also much safer than candles.

By the 1950s, electric Christmas lights began showing up in places other than Christmas trees. Fireplace mantles, doorways, and pillars all became adorned in Christmas lights during the holiday season. Families also began stringing the lights across the eaves and peaks of their homes.

Christmas lights have become a major part of the modern Christmas celebration. Many families have made it a yearly tradition to explore their communities, searching for the best neighborhoods with the most colorful displays of Christmas lights.