Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first successful practical
light bulb, created the very first strand of electric lights. During
the Christmas season of 1880, these strands were strung around
the outside of his Menlo Park Laboratory. Railroad passengers traveling
by the laboratory got their first look at an electrical light display.
But it would take almost forty years for electric Christmas lights
to become the tradition that we all know and love.
Before electric Christmas lights, families would use candles to
light up their Christmas trees. This practice was often dangerous
and led to many home fires. Edward H. Johnson put the very first
string of electric Christmas tree lights together in 1882. Johnson,
Edison’s friend and partner in the Edison’s Illumination
Company, hand-wired 80 red, white and blue light bulbs and wound
them around his Christmas tree. Not only was the tree illuminated
with electricity, it also revolved.
However, the world was not quite ready for electrical illumination.
There was a great mistrust of electricity and it would take many
more years for society to decorate its Christmas trees and homes
with electric lights. Some credit President Grover Cleveland with
spurring the acceptance of indoor electric Christmas lights. In
1895, President
Cleveland requested that the White House family Christmas
tree be illuminated by hundreds of multi-colored electric light
bulbs.
On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began
the country’s celebration of Christmas by lighting the
National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights on the Ellipse
located south of the While House.
Until 1903, when General Electric began to offer pre-assembled
kits of Christmas lights, stringed lights were reserved for the
wealthy and electrically savvy. The wiring of electric lights was
very expensive and required the hiring of the services of a wireman,
our modern-day electrician. According to some, to light an average
Christmas tree with electric lights before 1903 would have cost
$2000.00 in today’s dollars.
While Thomas Edison and Edward H. Johnson may have been the first
to create electric strands of light in 1880/1882, it was Albert
Sadacca who saw a future in selling electric Christmas lights.
The Sadacca family owned a novelty lighting company and in 1917
Albert, a teenager at the time, suggested that its store offer
brightly colored strands of Christmas lights to the public. By
the 1920’s Albert and his brothers organized the National
Outfit Manufacturers Association (NOMA), a trade association. NOMA
soon became NOMA Electric Co., with its members cornering the Christmas
light market until the 1960’s.
Today we expect to see the holiday season become aglow with electric
strands of light. Think of the variety and range of Christmas lights
available in today’s market. We can be grateful to Thomas
Edison, Edward H. Johnson and Albert Sadacca for illuminating our holiday season.
Related
Web Sites |
- Capitol
Grounds Christmas Trees -
From the Architect of the Capitol, information about the
history of the U.S. Capitol Grounds Christmas trees.
- Christmas
Trees and More from the University of Illinois Extension -
Includes Christmas tree facts, tree types, educational
lesson topics and much more.
- How
Stuff Works: How Christmas lights work -
Includes introduction to how Christmas light works, as
well as a short description on how the blinking lights
work.
- National
Electrical Contractors Association (NECA): A few facts
about the origin of electric Christmas lights. -
Information about the history of electric Christmas
lighting and other historical facts related to Christmas
lighting.
- The
Antique Christmas Lights Museum -
Includes a history of American Christmas lighting from
its inception through the first half of the twentieth century.
- National
Park Service: History of the National Christmas Tree -
A chronology and history of the National Christmas Tree
from 1923 - present. Also included is the Christmas Pageant
of Peace History.
- Thomas
Edison papers at the State University of New Jersey,
Rutgers. -
Search Edison’s papers. Also, includes biographical
information about Edison, as well as bibliographies, chronologies,
patents, and inventions.
- White
House Tree from Whitehouse.gov -
Learn about the history of the White House Christmas tree and interesting facts
about Christmas at the White House.
- Whitehouse.gov:
Pageant of Peace -
Learn about the history of the National Christmas Tree
and Tree Lighting Ceremony.
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Further
Reading |
- A
brilliant Christmas tree. How an electrician amused his
children. In and about the city. New York Times,
Dec. 27, 1884. p. 5.
- Brenner,
Robert. Electric lighting of Christmas trees. In Christmas
past: a collectors’ guide to its history and decorations. West Chester, PA, Schiffer Pub., c1985. p. 156-169.
- Brenner,
Robert. Electric lights: some interesting variations.
In Christmas revisited. West Chester,
PA, Schiffer Pub., c1986.
p. 100-111.
- Brenner,
Robert. Indoor electric lighting of our trees and
homes. In Christmas 1960- present: a collectors’ guide
to decorations and customs. West Chester, PA, Schiffer,
Pub., c2002. p. 41-44, 70-72, 103, and 157.
- Brenner,
Robert. Indoor electric Christmas lights of our homes
and trees. In Christmas 1940-1959: a collectors’ guide
to decorations and customs. West Chester, PA, Schiffer
Pub., c2002. p. 53-66 and 154-170.
- Brenner,
Robert. Outdoor electric Christmas lights. In Christmas
1940-1959: a collectors’ guide to decorations and
customs. West Chester, PA, Schiffer Pub., c2002. p. 66-68
and 171-173.
- Brenner,
Robert. Outdoor electric lighting. In Christmas 1960-
present: a collectors’ guide to decorations and
customs. West Chester, PA, Schiffer Pub., c2002.
p. 45-47, 73-74, 104, and 157.
- Seeley,
Mary Evans. Season’s Greetings from the White House. Prologue, v. 28, Winter 1999: 304-313.
- Sloat,
Warren. The wizard of your Christmas tree. American Heritage,
v. 54, December 2003: 36- 40.
- Turning
on Christmas: history of electric Christmas tree lights.
Newsweek, v. 74, December 29, 1969:8.
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For
more print resources...
Search on "Christmas," "Christmas
decorations," "Christmas -- collectibles," "electric
lighting," "incandescent lamps" or "light
bulbs,"
in the Library of Congress Online
Catalog. |
2000
Capitol Christmas Tree, a 65-foot. Colorado Blue Spruce, with over
over 10,000 blue, white, and amber electric lights. Photo:
Architect of the Capitol Web site.
The General
Electric Christmas lighting outfit, the first set offered for sale
to the public. Circa 1903-1904. Photo: The Antique Christmas
Lights Museum
Light
bulbs, part of the first lighting "outfit" offered to the public.
Wires, circuit box, and light bulb sockets, part of the first lighting
"outfit" offered to the public.
The first National
Christmas Tree being set up. Photo: Prints
and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
President Coolidge
at the lighting of the first National Christmas Tree on December
24, 1923. Photo: Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress.
Garden
of Lights at Brookside Gardens, Wheaten, MD. Photo: Montgomery
County Parks Web site.
What
is a home without love? c. 1900, shows a tree with lighted candles.
Photo: Prints
and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
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