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In 1882, in a townhouse at 136 East 36th Street in New York City, Edward Hibberd Johnson had an idea that would make him the unsung set decorator of a zillion holiday snapshots.
Dec 22, 2015 · T he Christmas lights of today can light up trees and window frames with tiny twinkling lights of many colors—or cause frustration with their long and tangle-prone cables. But the first such ...
Nov 9, 2017 · More than two decades after Edison’s first Christmas lights lit up Menlo Park, Edison’s General Electric began selling Decorative and Miniature Lamp kits that would light up Christmas trees all around the country.
- Christmas Trees
- The Rockettes
- 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
- Christmas Pickles
- Elf on The Shelf
- Yule Log
- Advent Calendars
- Gingerbread Houses
- The Nutcracker
- Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages, with German and other European settlers popularizing Christmas trees in America by the early 19th century. A New York woodsman named Mark Carr is credited with opening the first U.S. Christmas tree lot in 1851. A 2019 survey by the American Christmas Tree Association, predicted that 77 percen...
Since 1925, first known as the Missouri Rockets, this iconic dance troupe has been kicking up its heels, officially becoming the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in 1934. From performing at movie openings to entertaining troops to making TV appearances, they’re perhaps best known for their annual Christmas Spectacular.
Decades later, it may be hard to imagine that this beloved TV special inspired by Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip was first rejected by CBS executives. But when it finally aired on December 9, 1965, almost half of all U.S. TV setswere tuned to the broadcast, and the show went on to win an Emmy, a Peabody, an enduring following and even a trend...
If there’s a pickle among your snowman, angel and reindeer ornaments, you’re likely taking part in the American tradition of hiding the green ornament on the tree, so that the first child to find it wins a gift, or gets to open the first present Christmas morning. The practice’s origins are a bit murky (or should that be briny?), but, it’s likely i...
Love it or loathe it, since 2005, moms and dads have either joyously or begrudgingly been hiding a toy elf each night from Thanksgiving to Christmas. More than 13 million elves have been “adopted” since 2005 when Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell, published the book Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition that comes with the toy. Social...
Yule logs were part of ancient winter solstice celebrations, but it was Americans who turned the wood burning into must-see TV. Back in 1966, WPIX-TV in New York City aired a continuous 17-second loop of a fireplace for three hours along with holiday music. That led to eventual better production and nearly 20 years of annual viewing. Today, you can...
Early versions of this tradition, started in Germany in 1903 by publisher Gerhard Land, offered a way for children to count down to Christmas by opening one “door” or “window” a day to reveal a Bible passage, poem or small gift. Since gaining mass popularity by 1920, the calendars have evolved to secular calendars that include daily gifts from mini...
Although Queen Elizabeth I gets creditfor the early decorating of gingerbread cookies, once again, it’s the Germans who lay claim to starting the gingerbread house tradition. And when the German Brothers Grimm wrote “Hansel and Gretel” a new holiday tradition was born. Today, the edible decorations are available in a slew of pre-packed kits.
For many, the holiday season is not complete without a trip to watch this ballet. With music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, the romantic tale of the young Clara’s Christmas Eve premiered Dec. 18, 1892, in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was performed for the first time outside of Russia in 1934 in England and ...
You can blame our neighbors to the north for this silly, ironic tradition that really gained steam in the 1980s. According to the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book, sweaters became a party trend in Vancouver, Canada in 2001. And the trend is seemingly here to stay. According to Fox Business, the ugly sweater industry is a multi-million business, wi...
- Lesley Kennedy
- Thomas Edison was responsible for the first Christmas light display. Determined to make good on his promise to electrify downtown Manhattan, Thomas Edison sought to draw attention to his incandescent light bulb during the 1880 Christmas season.
- Edison’s colleague Edward H. Johnson created the first electrically illuminated Christmas tree. Just two years later in 1882, Edison set up a central power plant on Pearl Street in Manhattan.
- Grover Cleveland was the first president to have a Christmas tree decked out in electric bulbs. Benjamin Harrison was the first to have a Christmas tree in the White House in 1889, but it wasn’t until 1895—four years after the White House was wired with electricity—that Grover Cleveland requested the first family’s tree be adorned with hundreds of multi-colored bulbs.
- Christmas lights were expensive. Very expensive. By 1900, it could cost as much as $300 (around $10,000 today!) to pay for the lights, a generator, and a wireman’s services to illuminate a Christmas tree with electric lights.
Dec 20, 2016 · Fireplace mantles, doorways, and pillars all became adorned in Christmas lights during the holiday season. Families also began stringing the lights across the eaves and peaks of their homes ...
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One Small Light: An Original Christmas Story. With Congregational Carols: "Joy to the World" "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" "In the Bleak Midwinter" "Away In a Manger" "O Little Town of Bethlehem" "O Holy Night" UMH=United Methodist Hymnal. Hymn: "Joy to the World" (UMH 246)
