We may sometimes catch ourselves thinking that when we light the Christmas tree, we uphold a very old tradition. But although candles did play some part in the early Christian culture, the tradition of putting lights on trees is a relatively new one that can be dated back to the middle of the 17th century. Below I shall look at the historical development of Christmas lighting – both as a cultural and technological phenomenon.
Christmas lighting: an ancient tradition?
When early Christians held worship gatherings, they would often light a candle and put it in a window to show that worship was occurring at that location. The reason was probably both to mark the event and to offer a sign to other believers who wished to partake in the practice. Whether this practice had any relation whatsoever with the later practice of putting light on trees is unknown, however.
The Christmas tree lighting
Both the tradition to have trees and the tradition to put lights on trees are relatively now. The first known use of lights on trees dates back to Germany in the middle of the 17th century. Over the next 100-150 years, the tradition became established, first in Germany and then it spread to Eastern Europe. This development was ultimately very slow and first in the 19th century did the practice become relatively common.
One reason why the practice spread slow and did not really catch on was perhaps that it was dangerous. Candles were glued with melted wax to tree branches and this must have resulted in a number of fires during the time it was practiced. Perhaps as a result, it became common to use candle holders around 1890 and from the turn of the century, glass balls were used to hold the candles.
From the 1880s and onwards, the innovation in Christmas lighting moved to the United States and New York City became the first place where electricity was used to light a Christmas tree. Edward Johnson, who eventually would work for Thomas Edison, was behind the “operation” when he in 1882 used eighty light bulbs to light a tree. Eight years later, Johnson mass produced Christmas lighting.
Light and trees can be a bad combination, however, because trees do catch on fire. This happened and it led to major fires and ultimately also to death. A particularly tragic fire in New York City inspired the then fifteen year old Albert Sadacca, to start producing safe Christmas lights in 1917. Later Sadacca would start the company NOMA Electric and it became the biggest selling Christmas lighting company in the whole world.
Sources:
Christmas lights (holiday decoration). Retrieved November 26, 2010
URL : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights_(holid ay_decoration)