Beatrice Lang
The first electric Christmas lights were created and displayed by Edward Hibberd Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison, in 1882. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and strung them together around a tree in his parlor. The tree was also connected to a generator and a revolving pedestal, creating a dazzling display. This innovation not only added colour and flash to Christmas celebrations but also significantly reduced the fire risk associated with traditional wax candles used on Christmas trees.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
| Inventor | Edward Hibberd Johnson |
| Other names | Edward H. Johnson, Mr. Johnson |
| Johnson's profession | Telegraph operator, manager, president of the company Edison formed to provide illumination in New York City |
| Johnson's relation to Thomas Edison | Friend, employee, business associate |
| Thomas Edison's role | Inventor of the first successful practical light bulb |
| Number of bulbs | 80 |
| Colors of bulbs | Red, white, blue |
| Power source | A generator |
| Other features | The tree revolved |
| Location | Johnson's parlor, New York City |
| Year of first electric Christmas lights sale | Around 1890 |
| First buyer of electric Christmas lights | President Grover Cleveland |
| Year of purchase | 1894 or 1895 |
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What You'll Learn
Thomas Edison's 1880 holiday lights
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first successful practical lightbulb, created the first strand of electric lights. During the Christmas season of 1880, these strands were strung around the outside of his Menlo Park Laboratory in New Jersey. Rail passengers travelling by train caught a glimpse of the electric light display. However, it would take almost four decades for electric Christmas lights to become a common tradition.
Before electric Christmas lights, families would decorate their Christmas trees with candles. This practice was often dangerous and led to many house fires. In 1882, Edward H. Johnson, Edison's friend and partner in the Edison Illumination Company, hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. Johnson's tree was not only illuminated with electricity, but it also revolved. Johnson's electrified Christmas tree attracted a crowd, and he made it a tradition to add more bulbs each year.
Despite the initial popularity of Johnson's creation, the world was not quite ready for electrical illumination. There was a great mistrust of electricity, and it would take many more years for society to adopt electric Christmas lights. The wiring of electric lights was also very expensive and required the services of an electrician. As a result, electric Christmas lights were initially reserved for the wealthy.
It wasn't until 1903 when General Electric, a company founded by Edison in the 1880s, began to offer affordable pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights that electric lights became more accessible to the general public.
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Edward H. Johnson's 1882 Christmas tree lights
The first electrically illuminated Christmas tree was created by Edward Hibberd Johnson, Thomas Edison's friend and business associate at the Edison Electric Light Company, in 1882. Johnson, who was also an inventor, hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and strung them together around a tree in front of the street-side window of his New York City home. The tree was set on a wooden box that rotated six times a minute, turning the lights on and off alternately. The electrifying display drew a crowd, and Johnson was compelled to turn his creation into an annual tradition, adding more bulbs each year.
At the time, electricity was not yet widely available, and light bulbs were very expensive, so families did not start using electric Christmas lights immediately. The wiring of electric lights was costly and required the services of an electrician. As a result, electric Christmas lights were initially reserved for the wealthy. However, Johnson's innovation provided a safer alternative to the popular tradition of decorating Christmas trees with candles, which often resulted in house fires.
In 1894, President Grover Cleveland's daughters were delighted by a Christmas tree illuminated with electric lights, and the president was credited with spurring the acceptance of indoor electric Christmas lights. By the turn of the 20th century, the General Electric Company began producing and selling electric Christmas lights that did not require an electrician to wire, making them more accessible to the general public.
Today, we can thank Thomas Edison, Edward H. Johnson, and others for illuminating our holiday season with a variety of electric Christmas lights.
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The White House Christmas tree in 1894
The use of electric Christmas lights can be traced back to the inventor Thomas Edison, who in 1880 created the first strand of electric Christmas lights, which he hung outside his laboratory in New Jersey. However, it was Edison's friend and business associate, Edward Hibberd Johnson, who first came up with the idea to decorate a Christmas tree with electric lights in 1882. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and strung them together around a tree in his parlor. Johnson's electrified Christmas tree drew a crowd, and he made it a tradition, adding more bulbs each year.
The White House Christmas tree became electrified in 1894 during the presidency of Grover Cleveland. Cleveland's daughters were delighted by the evergreen, which was described by the Wheeling Register as "very beautifully trimmed and decorated with tiny parti-coloured electric lamps in place of the old-time wax candles". This was made possible by the installation of electricity in the White House in 1891.
Prior to the use of electric lights, Christmas trees were decorated with wax candles, which posed a significant fire hazard. Johnson's electric lights provided a safer alternative, reducing the risk of Christmas trees catching fire. However, electric Christmas lights did not become common practice for several decades due to the limited availability of electric power and the high cost and inconvenience of the lights themselves.
It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that electric Christmas lights began to gain popularity. The General Electric Company started producing and selling electric Christmas lights that did not require an electrician to wire, making them more accessible to the general public. In 1903, General Electric began offering affordable pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights, which further contributed to the widespread adoption of electric Christmas lights.
The White House Christmas tree, also known as the Blue Room Christmas Tree, has been a tradition since the 19th century, although there were years when no indoor tree was installed. The first indoor Christmas tree at the White House is believed to have been during the presidency of Franklin Pierce in the 1850s, although some sources suggest it was during Benjamin Harrison's administration in the 1880s or 1890s. The tradition of presidential wives decorating the White House tree began with Lou Henry Hoover in 1929, and the first lighting of the National Christmas Tree by a president took place in 1923 when Calvin Coolidge lit a tree with 3,000 electric lights.
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President Calvin Coolidge's 1923 National Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree has been a part of White House tradition since 1889, when President Benjamin Harrison set up an indoor tree for his family and visitors. However, it was President Calvin Coolidge who, on Christmas Eve in 1923, began the tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree.
The first National Christmas Tree was a 48-foot balsam fir from the Green Mountains of Vermont, President Coolidge's home state. It was decorated with 2,500 red, white, and green electric light bulbs, as well as ornaments and candles. The tree was a gift from Middlebury College, located in Vermont.
On December 24, 1923, President Coolidge pressed a button to light up the tree, which was located on the Ellipse, south of the White House. The lighting ceremony was attended by over 6,000 visitors, who also enjoyed performances from several musical groups, including the Epiphany Church choir and the U.S. Marine Band.
The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony has since become an annual tradition, with the president's participation in the public tree lighting ceremony continuing to the present day. The advance of mass communications in the early 20th century, through radio, illustrated magazines, and newsreel coverage, ensured that the First Family's celebration of Christmas became a vital part of the nation's yuletide festivities.
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Albert Sadacca's 1917 safer Christmas lights
In the late 1800s, people decorated their Christmas trees with candles, which was a dangerous fire hazard. In 1882, Edward H. Johnson, a friend and business associate of Thomas Edison, created the first string of electric Christmas lights. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. This new tradition of using electric lights instead of candles was safer and added a festive touch with colour and flash. However, electricity was not yet widely available, and light bulbs were expensive, so families did not adopt electric Christmas lights right away.
It was not until the early 1900s that electric Christmas lights started to become more accessible. In 1903, the General Electric Company began offering pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights, but they were still costly and required an electrician to install them. By the 1920s, electric Christmas lights were becoming more common, and in 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights.
Albert Sadacca entered the picture in 1917. Originally from Madrid, Spain, Sadacca was a recent immigrant when he began developing Christmas lights. He helped found NOMA, a company that his family controlled from 1939 onwards. Sadacca served as the company's president and chairman into the late 1970s. NOMA played a significant role in the commercialisation of Christmas lights, making them more accessible to the average consumer.
While Johnson is credited with introducing the concept of electric Christmas lights, Sadacca's contributions were instrumental in making them a widespread and commercial success. Together, these two pioneers helped shape the modern tradition of illuminating the holiday season with festive lights, bringing joy and sparkle to homes across the globe.
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Frequently asked questions
The first electric Christmas lights were created by Thomas Edison in 1880. However, it was his friend and employee, Edward Hibberd Johnson, who first used them to decorate a Christmas tree in 1882.
No. Electric Christmas lights were initially very expensive and required the services of an electrician. As a result, they were only accessible to the wealthy. It wasn't until 1903 when General Electric began to offer pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights that they started to become more popular.
Yes, before the invention of electric Christmas lights, people used candles to light up their Christmas trees. This often led to fires and was a major safety concern.
In 1882, Edward H. Johnson hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and strung them around a Christmas tree in his parlor. The tree also revolved, creating a dazzling display that drew a crowd. Johnson continued to add more bulbs to his tree every year, and the idea slowly caught on.
Yes, in 1894, President Grover Cleveland decorated the White House Christmas tree with electric lights, and in 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights, further popularising their use.
