Christmas lights (also known asfairy lights,festive lights orstring lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration ofChristmas, often on display throughout theChristmas season includingAdvent andChristmastide. The custom goes back to whenChristmas trees were decorated with candles, which symbolized Christ being thelight of the world.[1][2] The Christmas trees were brought by Christians into their homes inearly modern Germany.[3][4][5][6]
Christmas trees displayed publicly and illuminated with electric lights became popular in the early 20th century. By the mid-20th century, it became customary to display strings of electric lights along streets and on buildings; Christmas decorations detached from the Christmas tree itself. In the United States, Canada and Europe, it became popular to outline private homes with such Christmas lights intract housing starting in the 1960s. By the late 20th century, the custom had also been adopted in other nations, including outside the Western world, notably inJapan andHong Kong. It has since spread throughoutChristendom.[7][1]
In many countries, Christmas lights, as well as otherChristmas decorations, are traditionally erected on or around thefirst day ofAdvent.[8][9] In the Western Christian world, the two traditional days when Christmas lights are removed areTwelfth Night andCandlemas, the latter of which ends theChristmas-Epiphany season in somedenominations.[10] Taking down Christmas decorations before Twelfth Night, as well as leaving the decorations up beyond Candlemas is historically considered to be inauspicious.[11][12]
The Christmas tree was first recorded to be used by theLutheran Christians in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in theCathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, under the leadership of theProtestant Reformer,Martin Bucer.[3][13] In homes, "German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; theMoravians put lighted candles on those trees."[4][14] These candles symbolized Jesus as theLight of the World.[2][1] The Christmas tree was adopted in upper-class homes in18th-century Germany, where it was occasionally decorated with candles, which at the time was a comparatively expensive light source. Candles for the tree were glued with melted wax to a tree branch or attached by pins. Around 1890, candleholders were first used for Christmas candles. Between 1902 and 1914, smalllanterns and glass balls to hold the candles started to be used. Early electric Christmas lights were introduced withelectrification, beginning in the 1880s.
The illuminated Christmas tree became established in the UK duringQueen Victoria's reign, and through emigration spread to North America and Australia. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the 13-year-old princess wrote, "After dinner.. we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room. There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees".[15] Until the availability of inexpensive electrical power in the early 20th century, miniature candles were commonly (and in some cultures still are) used.
The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation ofEdward H. Johnson, an associate of inventorThomas Edison. While he was vice president of theEdison Electric Light Company, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electricincandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, in December 1882 at his home nearFifth Avenue inNew York City.[16][17] Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as apublicity stunt.[18] However, it was published by aDetroit newspaper reporter,[16][17] and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[19] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930.[20]
In 1895, US PresidentGrover Cleveland sponsored the first electrically lit Christmas tree in theWhite House. It featured over a hundred multicolored lights. The first commercially produced Christmas tree lamps were manufactured in strings of multiples of eight sockets by theGeneral Electric Co. ofHarrison, New Jersey. Each socket accepted a miniature two-candela carbon-filament lamp.
The first recorded uses of Christmas lights on outdoor trees occurred inSan Diego in 1904;Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1909; andNew York City in 1912.[20]McAdenville, North Carolina, claims to have been the first in 1956.[21]TheLibrary of Congress credits the town for inventing "the tradition of decorating evergreen trees with Christmas lights dates back to 1956 when the McAdenville Men's Club conceived of the idea of decorating a few trees around the McAdenville Community Center."[22] However, theRockefeller Center Christmas Tree has had "lights" since 1931, but did not have real electric lights until 1956.[23] Furthermore, Philadelphia's Christmas Light Show and Disney's Christmas Tree also began in 1956.[24][25] In Canada, archival photos taken in 1956 around suburbanToronto capture several instances of outdoor evergreens illuminated with Christmas lights.[26] ThoughGeneral Electric sponsored community lighting competitions during the 1920s, it would take until the mid-1950s for the use of such lights to be adopted by average households.
Christmas lights found use in places other than Christmas trees. By 1919, city electrician John Malpiede began decorating the newCivic Center Park inDenver, Colorado, eventually expanding the display to the park's Greek Amphitheater and later to the adjacent new Denver City and County Building - City Hall upon its completion in 1932.[27][28] Soon, strings of lights adorned mantles and doorways inside homes, and ran along the rafters, roof lines, and porch railings of homes and businesses. In recent times, many city skyscrapers are decorated with long mostly-vertical strings of a common theme, and are activated simultaneously inGrand Illumination ceremonies.
In 1963, a boycott of Christmas lights was done inGreenville, North Carolina, to protest the segregation that kept blacks from being employed by downtown businesses in Greenville, during the Christmas sales season. Known as theBlack Christmas boycott or "Christmas Sacrifice", it was an effective way to protest the cultural and fiscal segregation in the town with 33% black population. Light decorations in the homes, on the Christmas trees, or outside the house were not shown, and only six houses in the black community broke the boycott that Christmas.[29]
In 1973, during an oil shortage triggered by an embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (later OPEC), President Nixon asked Americans not to put up Christmas lights to conserve energy use. Many Americans complied, and there were fewer displays that year.[30]
In the mid-2000s, the video of the home ofCarson Williams was widely distributed on the internet as aviral video. It garnered national attention in 2005 from The Today Show on NBC,Inside Edition and the CBS Evening News and was featured in a Miller television commercial.[31][32] Williams turned his hobby into a commercial venture, and was commissioned to scale up his vision to a scale of 250,000 lights at a Denver shopping center, as well as displays in parks and zoos.
The technology used in Christmas lighting displays is highly diverse, ranging from simple light strands,Christmas lights (a.k.a.Fairy lights), through to full blown animated tableaux, involving complex illuminated animatronics and statues.
Christmas lights (also called twinkle lights, holiday lights, mini lights or fairy lights), that are strands ofelectric lights used to decorate homes, public/commercial buildings andChristmas trees during theChristmas season are amongst the most recognized forms of Christmas lighting. Christmas lights come in a dazzling array of configurations and colors. The small "midget" bulbs commonly known as fairy lights are also called Italian lights in some parts of the U.S., such asChicago. The first miniature Christmas lights were manufactured in Italy.
The types of lamps used in Christmas lighting also vary considerably, reflecting the diversity of modern lighting technology in general. Common lamp types areincandescent light bulbs and nowlight-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are being increasingly encouraged as being more energy efficient. Less common areneon lamp sets.Fluorescent lamp sets were produced for a limited time bySylvania in the mid-1940s.[33]
Christmas lights using incandescent bulbs are somewhat notorious for being difficult totroubleshoot and repair. In the 1950s and 1960s, theseries circuit connected light sets would go completely dark when a single bulb failed. So in the fairly recent past, the mini-lights have come withshunts to allow a set to continue to operate with a burned out bulb. However, if there are multiple bulb failures or a shunt is bad, the string can still fail. There are two basic ways to troubleshoot this: a one by one replacement with a known good bulb, or by using atest light to find out where the voltage gets interrupted. One example made specifically for Christmas lights is the LightKeeper Pro.
When Christmas light manufacturers first started using LEDs the colors seemed very dull and uninspiring.[34] Even the white lights, which were typically single-chip LEDs, glowed with a faintly yellowish color that made them look cheap and unattractive according to the general public at the time.[35]
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Displays of Christmas lights in public venues and on public buildings are a popular part of the annual celebration of Christmas, and may be set up by businesses or by local governments. The displays utilize Christmas lights in many ways, including decking towering Christmas trees in public squares, street trees and park trees, adorning lampposts and other such structures, decorating significant buildings such as town halls and department stores, and lighting up popular tourist attractions such as theEiffel Tower and theSydney Opera House. It is believed that the first outdoor public electric light Christmas Holiday display was organized by Fredrick Nash and the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce inAltadena, California, on Santa Rosa Avenue, calledChristmas Tree Lane. Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena has been continuously lit except during WW2 since 1920. Annual displays inRegent Street andOxford Street, London, date from 1954 and 1959 respectively.
Outdoor lighting outfits for the home were offered in quantity starting in the 1930s. By the 1960s, with the popularity oftract housing in the US, it became increasingly common to outline the house (particularly theeaves) with weatherproof Christmas lights. TheHoliday Trail of Lights is a joint effort by cities ineast Texas and northwestLouisiana that had its origins in theFestival of Lights and Christmas Festival inNatchitoches, started in 1927, making it one of the oldest light festivals in the US. Fulton Street inPalo Alto, California, has the nickname "Christmas Tree Lane" due to the display of lighted Christmas trees along the street.[36]
A familiarpastime during the holiday season is to drive or walk aroundneighborhoods in the evening to see the lights displayed on homes. While some homes have no lights, others may have ornate displays requiring weeks to construct. Some displays are created forcharities or local councils, for instance an annual display inSleaford,Lincolnshire, is hosted around the Christmas period to raise money for their Lincolnshire andNottinghamair ambulances. They successfully raised £1,389.09 during their 2022 attempt.[37] A few have made it to theExtreme ChristmasTV specials shown onHGTV, at least one requiring agenerator and another requiring separate electrical service to supply theelectrical power required.InAustralia andNew Zealand, chains of Christmas lights were quickly adopted as an effective way to provide ambient lighting to verandas, where cold beer is often served in the hot summer evenings. Since the late 20th century, increasingly elaborate Christmas lights have been displayed, and driving around between 8 and 10 p.m. to view the lights has become a popular form of family entertainment. In some areas Christmas lighting becomes a fierce competition, with town councils offering awards for the best decorated house, in other areas it is seen as a co-operative effort, with residents priding themselves on their street or their neighbourhood. Today it is estimated that more than 150 million light sets are sold in America each year, with more than 80 million homes decorated with holiday lights.[38] The town ofMcAdenville, North Carolina, United States have a tradition called Christmas Town USA where the entire town is decorated with Christmas lights.[39] The town ofLobethal, South Australia, in theAdelaide Hills, is famed for its Christmas lighting displays. Many residents expend great effort to have the best light display in the town. Residents from the nearby city ofAdelaide often drive to the town to view them. In the US, the television seriesThe Great Christmas Light Fight features homes across the country in a competition of homes with elaborate Christmas light displays.
In theUnited States, lights have been produced for many otherholidays. These may be simple sets in typical holiday colors, or the type with plastic ornaments which the light socket fits into.Light sculptures are also produced in typical holiday icons.
Halloween is the most popular, with miniature light strings having black-insulated wires and semi-opaque orange bulbs. Later sets had some transparentpurple bulbs (a representation of black, similar toblacklight), a few even have transparent green, or a translucent or semi-opaque lime green (possibly representingslime as inGhostbusters, or creatures likegoblins orspace aliens). Two types of icicle lights are sold at Halloween: all-orange, and a combination of purple and green known as "slime lights".
Easter lights are often produced inpastels. These typically have white wire and connectors.
Red, white, and blue lights are produced forIndependence Day, as well asU.S. flag and otherpatriotic-themed ornaments. Net lights have been produced with the lights in a U.S. flag pattern. In 2006, some stores carried stakes with LEDs that light fiber-optics, looking similar tofireworks.
These above light strings are occasionally used onChristmas trees anyway, usually to add extra variety to the colors of the lights on the tree.
Various types ofpatio lighting with no holiday theme are also made for summertime. These are often clear white lights, but most are ornament sets, such aslanterns made of metal orbamboo, or plastic ornaments in the shape ofbarbecuecondiments,flamingos andpalm trees, or even variousbeers. Some are made of decorative wire or mesh, inabstract shapes such asdragonflies, often with glass "gems" ormarbles. Light sculptures are also made in everything from wire-meshfrogs to artificial palm trees outlined inrope lights.
InPakistan, fairy lights are often used to decorate in celebration ofEid ul-Fitr atChaand Raat, which occurs at the end ofRamadan. InIndia onDiwali too, homes, shops and streets are decorated with strings of fairy lights.
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Christmas lighting leads to some recycling issues. Annually more than 20 million pounds of discarded holiday lights are shipped toShijiao, China (nearGuangzhou), which has been referred to as "the world capital for recycling Christmas lights".[40] The region began importing discarded lightsc. 1990 in part because of its cheap labor and low environmental standards.[40] As late as 2009, many factories burned the lights to melt the plastic and retrieve the copper wire, releasing toxic fumes into the environment.[40] A safer technique was developed that involved chopping the lights into a fine sand-like consistency, mixing it with water and vibrating the slurry on a table causing the different elements to separate out, similar to the process of panning for gold.[40] Everything is recycled: copper, brass, plastic and glass.
More cities in the US are establishing schemes to recycle Christmas lights, with towns organizing drop-off points for handing in old lights.[41][42]
As of December 2019, most scrap metal recycling centers will purchase traditional incandescent Christmas lights for between US$0.10/Lb - USD$0.20/Lb (€0.20/Kg - €0.40/kg).[43] This scrap value is primarily derived from the recycling value of the copper found inside the wire, and to a lesser degree, other metals and alloys. As an example, a standard 20 feet (6.1 m) strand of modern incandescent Christmas lights weighing about 0.72 Lbs (0.33 kilo) was found to have less than 20% recoverable copper by weight.[43]
Installing holiday lighting may be a safety hazard when incorrectly connecting several strands of lights, repeatedly using the same extension cords for the lights to plug into or using an unsafe ladder during the installation process.
Christmas light sculptures, also called motifs, are used asChristmas decorations and for otherholidays. Originally, these were largewireframemetalwork pieces made for public displays, such as for amunicipal government to place onutility poles, andshopping centers to place onlampposts. Since the 1990s, these are also made in small plastic home versions that can be hung in awindow, or on adoor orwall. Framed motifs can be lit using mini lights or rope light, and larger scale motifs and sculptures may use C7 bulbs.
Light sculptures can be either flat (most common) or three-dimensional. Flat sculptures are the motifs, and are often on metal frames, butgarland can also be attached to outdoor motifs. Indoor motifs often have a multicolored plastic backing sheet, sometimesholographic. 3D sculptures includedeer orreindeer (evenmoose) in various positions, and with or withoutantlers, often with amotor to move the head up and down or side to side as ifgrazing. These and other 3D displays may be bare-frame, or be covered with garland, looped and woven transparent plastic cord oracrylic, or natural orgoldtone-paintedvines.Snowflakes are a popular design for municipal displays, so as not to be misconstrued as agovernmentendorsement ofreligion, or so they can be left up all winter.
Some places make huge displays of these during December, such asCallaway Gardens,Life University, andLake Lanier Islands in the U.S. state ofGeorgia. Ineast Tennessee, the cities ofChattanooga,Sevierville,Pigeon Forge, andGatlinburg have light sculptures up allwinter. Gatlinburg also has custom ones forValentine's Day andSt. Patrick's Day, while Pigeon Forge putsflowers on its tall lampposts for spring, and for winter has asteamboat and the famous picture ofU.S. MarinesRaising the Flag on Iwo Jima, in addition to the city'shistoric Old Mill.
Some sculptures havemicrocontrollers that sequencecircuits of lights, so that the object appears to be in motion. This is used for things such as snowflakes falling,Santa Claus waving, apeacedove flapping itswings, ortrain wheels rolling.
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German families brought a small tree into the home at Christmas time as a symbol of the Christ child, and decorated the boughs with cutout paper flowers, bright foil, apples, sweets, and other fancy treats. Another feature of Christmas that took a uniquely American turn in the nineteenth century is the tradition of Christmas lights. Candles were traditionally placed on the Christmas tree to symbolize Jesus as the light of the world.
In Christianity, the Christmas tree is a symbol of Christ as the true tree of life; the candles symbolize the "light of the world" that was born in Bethlehem; the apples often used as decorations set up a symbolic relation to the paradisal apple of knowledge and thus to the original sin that Christ took away so that the return to Eden-symbolized by the Christmas tree-is again possible for humanity.
The Christmas tree as we know it seemed to emerge in Lutheran lands in Germany in the sixteenth century. Although no specific city or town has been identified as the first to have a Christmas tree, records for the Cathedral of Strassburg indicate that a Christmas tree was set up in that church in 1539 during Martin Bucer's superintendency.
German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; the Moravians put lighted candles on those trees.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief thatMartin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.
The first person to put candles on a Christmas tree was the 16th century German theologian Martin Luther.
Christmas lights remind us Christians of Jesus, the light of the world, who causes God's love to shine forth for all humanity.
Advent: The four weeks before Christmas are celebrated by counting down the days with an advent calendar, hanging up Christmas decorations and lightning an additional candle every Sunday on the four-candle advent wreath.
Christmas in Sweden starts with Advent, which is the await for the arrival of Jesus. The symbol for it is the Advent candlestick with four candles in it, and we light one more candle for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Most people start putting up the Christmas decorations on the first of Advent.
Any Christmas decorations not taken down by Twelfth Night (January 5th) should be left up until Candlemas Day and then taken down.
This day is called The Feast of Epiphany, The Twelfth Night, or Three Kings Day, and in some parts of the world, it signifies a celebration that's just as big as the one on Christmas Day. And while we'll welcome any excuse to leave the red and gold ornaments and multicolor strand lights up a little longer, tradition says it's actually unlucky to take your tree down before this date.
The Christmas tree became a widespread custom among German Lutherans by the eighteenth century.
Many Lutherans continued to set up a small fir tree as their Christmas tree, and it must have been a seasonal sight in Bach's Leipzig at a time when it was virtually unknown in England, and little known in those farmlands of North America where Lutheran immigrants congregated.
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