by Carolyn Teasley

Created on: December 15, 2008   Last Updated: March 03, 2009

The History of Christmas Tree Lights

Christmas tree lights have always been a traditional part of the Christmas decor throughout time. The first known use of tree lights in the form of candles was made by Martin Luther in the 16th century. He was influenced by the stars that guided him home that night from a walk in the forest nearby. Martin used the candles from the windows of his home to decorate the small fir tree he had placed right side up instead of the traditional upside down version that was practiced then. (Lieurance, S., n.d.)

This tradition of placing small candles on Christmas trees became more prevalent during the 17th century, starting in Germany and spreading to Eastern Europe. To make the candles stay, they were either glued with melted wax or secured by pins. In 1890, candle holders were first used to hold Christmas candles on the tree. Some people placed the candles into wooden hoops for safety. Small lanterns and glass balls were used to hold the candles from 1902 to 1914. This was before electrical Christmas lights were widely used. Because of the risk of fire, most people did not set up their trees until December 24th, Christmas Eve.

The first electrical Christmas lights were made and used to decorate an evergreen tree by Edward Johnson in New York City in 1882. Johnson was a business associate of Thomas Edison. The strand of eighty small lights were hand wired and then mass produced starting around 1890. Department stores began to use the electrical lights in 1900 to help highlight their Christmas displays. President Grover Cleveland was the first president to set up a Christmas tree with the electrical lights at the White House in 1895. This began an American tradition as the public viewed the lighted White House Christmas tree. As the 1800s came to a close, Thomas Edison's company, General Electric sold made to order hand-blown bulbs. The purchaser then had to hire a "wireman" to string and wire the bulbs together. (www.ideafinder.com)

The American Eveready Company developed the first Christmas light set with screw-in bulbs and a plug for the wall socket in 1903.

Ralph Morris found that the lights removed from an old switchboard and wiring them on a tree could be made to light up by attaching the end of the strand to a battery in 1908.

Fifteen year old Albert Sadacca, in 1917 was motivated by a tragic Christmas tree fire caused by lighted candles to invent safe electric Christmas lights. Because of the nature of the family business, Albert had access to novelty lights which he adapted into Christmas lights. The sales for the first year were low. The next year he added multicolor lights and sales soared. Albert and his two brothers later started the NOMA Company which became the biggest Christmas lighting company worldwide until 1965. (http://inventors.about.com)

From the early 1900 until present day, Christmas tree lights have evolved with the times. Electrical Christmas lights are now available permanently attached to the artificial Christmas tree. Or you can purchase electrical Christmas lights that play Christmas carols and blink in time to the music. Who knows what the future will bring next!

Resources:

http://inventors.about.com/od/cstarti nventions/a/Xmas_Lights.htm

http://www.ideafinder.com /history/inventions/christlights.htm

Lieurance, S. (n.d.) The First Christmas Tree Lights, Retrieved December 14, 2008 from http://candleandsoap.about.com

Learn more about this author, Carolyn Teasley.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.