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No Christmas is complete without Christmas tree lights. Sometimes referred to as twinkle lights or fairy lights, this type of lighting consists of a strand of electric lights that come in various sizes, styles, and colors to create a festive environment during the holidays. Interestingly, Christmas tree lights were first used in a home in New York City back in 1882. Since that time, the popularity of these lights has exploded where today, you have a wonderful array of choices and configurations.
What most people do not know is that electric Christmas tree lights were actually invented by an associated of Thomas Edison. This man, Edward H. Johnson was also the owner of the first home illuminated during Christmas. For his lights, the bulbs were all specially made in red, white, and blue, all hand-wired. When he lit up his home with those 80 lights on Fifth Avenue, it was as if the entire city of New York came alive. However, it was not until 1895 when President Grover Cleveland sponsored the White House’s first Christmas tree. Massive and beautiful it took literally more than 100 multicolored, Christmas tree lights to create a magnificent sight. From there, Christmas tree lights were made commercially for public use. At this time, the lights were made in multiples of eight sockets, which used carbon filament bulbs. Although today we still find Christmas tree lights popular in just about every home, these lights are now being used for outside bushes and trees, fireplace mantles, staircases, around windows and doors, and so on. The result is a gorgeous home during the Christmas holiday, illuminated with brilliance. Although you have wonderful choices, obviously the most important consideration when buying lights is safety. The types of Christmas tree lights you find now are either incandescent or LED. With the LED option, you typically find these connected in series, which can be operated without the need for a transformer. The only consideration associated with LED Christmas tree lights is that there is a current-limiting resistor. You will also find neon lights, which are strings connected in parallel. In this case, each string has its own current-limiting resistor. One of the newer options for Christmas tree lights is the fiber optic technology. Although they could be used in a number of ways, these lights are most commonly installed on an artificial tree as a part of the overall piece. For the fiber optic Christmas tree lights, you would find bulbs in the base of the tree while fiber optic wires trail among the leaves, creating a beautiful and realistic appearance.
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Christmas Lighting