Lights & Decorations
One would think that Christmas lights have been around for as long as Christmas itself. Can any of you imagine Christmas without lights? How would the children find their way in the dark, so early on Christmas morning without them? The history of Christmas lights is intricately tied to the dawn of the modern era, when houses began to be supplied with electricity.As you are likely aware, Thomas Edison invented the first functioning light bulb back in 1879. A few years later, in 1882, an associate of his first employed the use of lights on his Christmas tree. Edward Johnson was the first to electrically light his family Christmas tree in his New York home. His home was located in one of the first sections of the city to be wired for electricity.
A visiting reporter from Detroit reported the following in “The Detroit Post and Tribune”: “Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect. It was brilliantly lighted with many colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six times a minute on a little pine box. There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and about equally divided between white, red and blue. As the tree turned and the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue—all evening.”
In 1890, Edison published a promotional brochure which may have been the first mention of commercially available electrically powered Christmas lights. It stated that “There are few forms of decoration more beautiful and pleasing than miniature incandescent lamps placed among flowers, or interwoven in garlands or festoons; for decorating Christmas trees or conservatories…”
From there, the popularity of Christmas lights exploded. Before long, every family had them and they became synonymous with the Christmas tree. It’s hard to imagine Christmas without Christmas lights. I tip my fuzzy red cap to you, Mr. Edison. You have given us all a gift we will always cherish!
Christmas Greetings
The Christmas card, as we know it, originated in England in the year 1843. An artist named John Calcott Horsley was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy and successful London businessman, to create a card that could be sent out to his friends and clients to wish them a merry Christmas.Sir Henry Cole was very well known at the time, for a number of reasons. He had a helping hand in helping to modernize the British postal system. He played a prominent role in the creation of the Royal Albert Hall, and acted as the construction manager on this massive project. He also arranged for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and he oversaw the inauguration of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
One of Sir Henry Cole’s greatest aspirations in life was to beautify the world around him. He owned and operated a wonderful art shop on Bond Street, which specialized in decorative objects for the home. His shop was hugely popular with the British upper class, and he earned a tidy sum from his business.
The Christmas card he commissioned was fashioned in the form of a triptych, which is a three-paneled design that allows for the two outer panels to be folded in towards the middle one. Each of the two side panels depicted a good deed. The first showed an image of people clothing the poor, and the other side panel showed an image of people feeding the hungry. The center piece had an image of a well-to-do family making a toast and surrounded by an enormous feast.
The inscription on the inside of the card read “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.” Of the one thousand cards printed for Sir Henry Cole, only twelve exist today in private collections. The printed card became highly fashionable in England during the years that followed. They also became very popular in Germany. It took quite a long time for the idea to catch on in America, then popularized by a German expatriate named Louis Prang in 1875. Today, more than 2 billion Christmas cards are exchanged each year. Merry Christmas, all!
Santa Claus & Giving to Others
Santa Claus is one old dude. We all know that. Just look at how white his beard and hair are, right? But did you know that the legend of Santa Claus, and St. Nick, go back nearly to the time of Christ, nearly 2,000 years ago? No? Well then, sit back, pour yourself a hot chocolate, grab yourself a plate of cookies, and get ready for the story of Santa Claus.It is said that around the year 280 A.D., there was a man born by the name of Nicolas. He was born in the Near East in a town called Patara. To find it today, look on a map or a globe for the country of Turkey, near Greece. It was there that the man who would become Santa Claus was born.
Nicolas had a big heart, so big that he became a monk and devoted himself to his god and his religion. But Nicolas also was a big fan of his family and his neighbors, and he also devoted himself to them. Word spread in his homeland and far and wide about how kind and generous Nicolas was. Nicolas was born into wealth, and stories soon spread about how Nicolas gave away all of his family’s money to the poor, the sick, and anyone else he came across who needed it.
He became so famous that Nicolas was known as the protector of all children (and sailors too). Once, he even saved three young girls, sisters, from being sold into slavery by their father. Their father, you see, needed money, and was going to make a fortune by selling his daughters. Instead, Nicolas came to their rescue by offering the father money for the girls, and then setting them free.
No wonder that Nicolas became Saint Nicolas after his death. For hundreds of years, Europeans celebrated him on the date of his death, December 6. Some even say that Saint Nick was the most popular saint in all of Europe during the end of the Middle Ages. December 6 was always considered a lucky day for this very same reason.
How did Saint Nick go from being the protector of children to Jolly Old Saint Nick, the guy we know as Santa Claus, who not only protects children, but brings them great gifts too? Well, that’s one heck of a long story, and it involves a manger, and baby Jesus. We probably all already know that story by heart.
But what you may not know is that the end of December was already a big deal in Europe before Christmas was started. It was during this time of year that many Europeans celebrated that winter was almost over. They would have great feasts, celebrated the harvest of their wine and their beer, and the coming of spring and the sun. So then it made perfect sense that when people also started celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus, that the two traditions would meld.
The notion of feasting and celebrating a holiday of lights, the happiness and giving of Saint Nick, and the hope and love brought by Baby Jesus, all of it merged to form the perfect holiday: Christmas. And who makes sure that it happens every year? None other than Santa Claus.
How can you give to others this season? Try the Reverse Advent Calendar!
Read
Watch
Make / Do
- Home for the Holidays bundle - (3) Christmas-themed Novel Studies + lots of extra goodies!
- Visit the Christmas Corner for lots of hands-on fun!
Includes eight American holidays. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student the holiday’s history and customs.
- Introduction
- Valentine’s Day
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Easter
- Mother’s Day
- Father’s Day
- Halloween
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
In addition to text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students. You will also find a short list of reading books and fun hands-on activities!
Product Samples: Valentine's Day & Christmas Traditions
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