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mythical little creatures with red caps and long white beards.
It is thus clear that Santa owes his origins to the ideas
and traditions of many. Indeed, he is treated differently
in almost every country in the world—the Brits, instead
of giving milk and cookies, leave whisky and
mince pies. Helps the night go a bit smoother, I am sure.
:) (special thanks to www.wikipedia.org
for reference materials).
A
BIT O' TREE TRIVIA
—Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees: 8.3 million in 2001.
—The best selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, Balsam fir and white pine.
—In 1856 Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was the first to place a Christmas tree in the White House.
—In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted until December 22nd because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
—Tinsel was once banned by the U.S. government because it contained lead. Now it’s made of plastic.
—These facts and more at: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/i
ndex.html
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ANOTHER
NEAT-O MOMENT
A
BRIEF HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Ever wonder why we hang lights on Christmas? Neither did I,
until I stumbled across some websites that told me why. Legend
has it that Martin Luther-the guy who said “Hang on
a minute” to the church in the 16th century—was
walking home one night when he saw the stars twinkling through
the branches of an evergreen. He was so taken with the sight
that he decided to replicate the effect by lighting candles
and placing them on his own trees.
The American tradition began in 1882 when as associate of
Thomas Edison named Edward Johnson decided to string 80 red,
white, and blue bulbs around the Christmas tree in his home.
For whatever reason, this idea didn’t gain much attention
until 1895, when president Grover Cleveland commissioned a
Christmas tree lighted with Edison bulbs. Before long, the
American upper crust was hosting Christmas tree light decoration
parties. They were expensive events to host, since it cost
$300 to light a tree at the time—the equivalent of $2,000
in today's money. Furthermore, stringing lights together back
then wasn’t the piece of cake it is now. A single strand
required a wireman to string the things together, plus a generator
to keep them lit.
 It
took another few years for tree lighting to become the truly
ubiquitous craze it is today. In 1903, General Electric
came out with a pre-
assembled set, which came with 8 bulbs and sockets and a plug
for attachment to a nearby wall or ceiling socket. The package
was still expensive ($12, the total weekly wage for an average
worker and the equivalent of about $80 today), so many department
stores in larger cities would rent sets for $1.50 for the
season.
In 1917, a fire in New York City caused by the continuing
practice of lighting trees with candles provided a creative
spark for 15-year old Albert Sadacca. Sadacca, whose family
was engaged in the practice of making novelty glass bird cages
that lit up, had all the glass bulbs he needed. They began
making string lights with white bulbs (but only sold 100 sets
their first year), and it was not until Albert suggested they
paint the bulbs different colors that business expanded at
a rapid pace. Albert started a company with his two brothers
Henri and Leon: NOMA Electric Company. It was the largest
Christmas lighting company in the world for each year of its
operation up until 1965.
Christmas tree lighting didn’t become popular until
after World War II, when electricity spread through the rapidly
growing suburbs and into rural areas. Prior to this, those
living outside of major cities had to supply their own power,
usually via a household generator.
—The miniature lights we use today are wired the same
way our grandparents’ lights were--in series. In a series
circuit, if one bulb goes out, all the bulbs go out. You might
have noticed this doesn’t always happen—this is
because now, each bulb has a “shunt” on it, a
device which creates a second path through which the current
can travel if one bulb goes out. The shunt can only work if
the light stays in its socket.
Source: www.necanet.org.
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