The history of Christmas lights

Christmas lights are an integral part of the winter holiday celebrations across the world. No matter how many Christmas decorations you hang on your tree, surely it just wouldn’t seem right without some twinkling fairy lights. Some people stop at a set of indoor string lights, while others go all out with the outdoor Christmas lights, draping icicle lights over the doorways and windows, or hanging cluster lights in groups for a dramatic display.

Certain streets even become famous once a year for miles around, when residents put on a dazzling display featuring all kinds of colourful Christmas lights. People in the neighbourhood will bring their kids to see the show, with many streets taking voluntary donations for charity in return for their efforts.

Where did this all start, and where? Here follows a brief rundown of how the trend for Christmas lights began:

We didn’t start the fire

Christmas was associated with fire – candles in particular – long before there was electricity to power strings of fairy lights. During the festive season, the family would huddle around the fire – both for warmth during the winter and to light up the shorter, darker days of December.

The earliest Christmas trees had candles placed on their boughs along with the Christmas decorations like baubles, sweets and biscuits. These were often lit on Christmas Eve or the big day itself. A big risk, of course, and this kind of Christmas tree lights were indeed to blame for many a fire.

Edison and Johnson

Edward Hibberd Johnson was friends with and one-time boss of the inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison. When he and Edison parted company as the latter left to start his own business, Johnson kept busy by converting Edison’s inspired ideas into cash. It was Johnson who popularised Edison’s phonograph by taking it on a tour of the States, and the two later formed the Edison Lamp Company together.

A lightbulb moment

It was a brainwave of Johnson’s that kick-started the international craze for Christmas lights. In 1882 – not perhaps as long ago as one might expect – Johnson made the first set of lights for his Christmas tree. He placed the tree in the window of his New York home at East 36th Street, and hand-strung a set of red, white and blue lights to drape around the tree. The lights relied upon generator power and were placed atop a revolving platform.

Using his flair for marketing, Johnson called a news reporter to the scene. Soon, crowds flocked to the townhouse to see the illuminations for themselves, and this quickly grew into an annual tradition – and each year, they were bigger and better. Just two years after that first display, Johnson’s lights had grown in number from 80 to 120.

The White House

Johnson’s lights were pricey to produce, and therefore initially beyond the means of many American families. Neither did many people trust electricity at that point. Their big break came in 1894, when the president put similar lights on the Christmas tree at the White House. By the early 1900s the lights had dropped dramatically in price, and by the 1930s Christmas string lights in all kinds of colours and shapes were widely available and much more affordable.

A yuletide tangle

Today, around 150 million sets of lights are sold around the world each year. Many are very cheaply produced in China and other areas that specialise mass production, and you can buy just about any kind of lights you can think of. Although many have not yet mastered the technique of storing them without the seemingly inevitable tangle, which may partly explain why quite so many fly off the shelves each winter.

Lit up from the inside

Every respectable Christmas tree seems to feature one or more sets of lights; in fact pre-lit trees are now widely available. Some prefer subtle, twinkling lights in warm or cool shades of white, while others opt for multi-coloured strings of lights with all kinds of flashing modes to choose from.

You can also now buy twig trees that feature lights, as well as miniature Christmas scenes, such as a festive village or nativity scene, that plug into the mains and give the room a warm glow over the winter season. Some like to place candles in their windows, as per the age-old tradition, but now these are more likely to be electrical versions powered by batteries or mains than pillars made from off-white wax.

Lighting up the night

Some folk revel in their own festive tradition of placing outdoor Christmas lights on every available surface of their home. Whole streets can be brightened up by some pretty yet subtle icicle lights that frame windows and doorways most becomingly, while others go for cluster lights that provide a more dazzling display.

An illuminated Father Christmas may be seen clambering up to the chimney on one house, while in the front garden of the home next door there may be some twinkling reindeer to delight the children of the neighbourhood.

The old fashioned way

Not everyone loves the modern style of lights. John Hanssen, a collector of all things old and festive, told Time magazine how he preferred to use vintage lights in his own home at Christmas. According to Hanssen:
“the old lights are so much better… the inventiveness, their beauty, their uniqueness cannot be compared. They are works of art compared to your generic box today.”

It’s academic

Meanwhile, a Californian doctoral student, Kerri Dean, researched the history of festive lighting as part of her thesis, and was awarded a Master’s on the basis of her interest in the history of Christmas lights.

The Christmas miracle on 36th Street

Whatever kind of Christmas lights you like best, spare a thought for Edward Hibberd Johnson when you are untangling your set this year – or shopping for some new ones. If his bright idea hadn’t lit up 36th Street, New York, during Christmas 1882, we might not have the illuminated Christmas trees, houses, workplaces and shopping centres that are such a key feature of Christmas in the modern day.

Christmas Lights

Christmas decorations at Burleydam