Decking the Halls
Decking the Halls this Holiday Season?
A little story of Christmas tree lights!
Until the late 19th century candles were the only way to light a Christmas Tree.
There were many experiments to create safe holders, from hoops in the 18th century to counter balanced metal holders and prettily decorated clips in the late 19th century. At the end of the century there were experiments with gas lights (many of which blew up!) Then finally, the first electrically lit tree was created by Edison in America, in the 1880’s. Many people still liked to use traditional candles,
and it was not until after W.W.II that the conversion happened to electrically lit trees. Some of the nicest lights made in America were made in the late 30’s & 40’s
by the General Electric Co. and licensed from Disney, showing Silly Symphonies, Snow White, and later Cinderella etc. There were also Bubble Lights which were little colored glass tubes with an oil inside, which began to bubble as the light heated up.
May your holidays be bright and merry,
you can even try to go green
with LED lights
that use 80% less electricity!