Blinkin' Christmas History

The lights have been flickering on and off around here this morning, which got me to thinking about the possibility of a holiday without electricity.

Gasp. Humbug. But, for now,  let's stay optimistic.

Then I wondered how long our Christmases have been electrically lit.

Turns out that electric lights were used to decorate a Christmas tree for the first time in 1882. Edward H. Johnson, a pal of Thomas Edison and president of Edison's New York electric company, rigged up some pretty impressive tree lights at his Manhattan home.

No word on how he got them untangled, or whether they all stayed lit even when one burned out.

About.com has this passage from a New York Times account of Johnson's modern Christmas marvel in 1884:

A pretty as well as novel Christmas tree was shown to a few friends by Mr. E.H. Johnson, President of the Edison Company for Electric Lighting, last evening in his residence, No. 136 East Thirty-sixth Street. The tree was lighted by electricity, and children never beheld a brighter tree or one more highly colored than the children of Mr. Johnson when the current was turned and the tree began to revolve. Mr. Johnson has been experimenting with house lighting by electricity for some time past, and he determined that his children should have a novel Christmas tree.

It stood about six feet high, in an upper room, last evening, and dazzled persons entering the room. There were 120 lights on the tree, with globes of different colors, while the light tinsel work and usual adornment of Christmas trees appeared to their best advantage in illuminating the tree...

Mr. Johnson had placed a little Edison dynamo at the foot of the tree, which by passing a current through from the large dynamo in the cellar of the house, converted it into a motor. By means of this motor, the tree was made to revolve with a steady, regular motion.

The lights were divided into six sets, one set of which was lighted at a time in front as the tree went round. By a simple devise of breaking and making connection through copper bands around the tree with corresponding buttons, the sets of lights were turned out and on at regular intervals as the tree turned around. The first combination was of pure white light, then, as the revolving tree severed the connection of the current that supplied it and made connection with a second set, red and white lights appeared. Then came yellow and white and other colors. Even combinations of the colors were made. By dividing the current from the large dynamo Mr. Johnson could stop the motion of the tree without putting out the lights.

Wow. My tree doesn't rotate. Show off.

Average folks couldn't afford electric Christmas lights until well into 20th century. Hopefully they'll stay lit in 2009.