Every December, millions of Americans string lights on their homes, trees, and practically everything else. It feels like an ancient tradition, doesn't it? Actually, Christmas lights were invented as a desperate marketing stunt by Thomas Edison's company in 1880 – and they were trying to sell you something much bigger than just pretty decorations.
Before Edison, people decorated Christmas trees with candles. Real, actual fire sitting on dried-out pine needles. As you might imagine, this resulted in frequent house fires and deaths. It was a beautiful tradition that was also completely terrifying.
Edison had just invented the light bulb and was desperately trying to convince Americans to wire their homes with electricity. The problem? Electricity was expensive, unfamiliar, and most people saw absolutely no reason to spend money on it. Gas lamps worked just fine.
Edison needed a publicity stunt that would make electricity seem magical, desirable, and safe. So in December 1880, he strung up electric lights outside his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, and invited people to come see the spectacle.
Newspapers went crazy for it. Reporters described the glowing lights as "fairy-like" and "magical." People traveled from miles away to see Edison's illuminated laboratory. It worked – suddenly electricity didn't seem scary or unnecessary. It seemed like the future.
Edison's business partner, Edward H. Johnson, took it further in 1882. He hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and strung them on his Christmas tree in New York City. He placed the tree in his window where passersby could see it, and he invited reporters to write about it.
The press coverage was exactly what Edison's company wanted. Stories described the "electric tree" as marvelous and beautiful. But here's the catch: only the super-wealthy could afford Christmas lights for decades.
A string of Christmas lights in the early 1900s cost about $300 in today's money – and that's not counting the cost of wiring your entire house for electricity first. Electric Christmas lights were a status symbol that screamed "I'm rich enough to have electricity in my home."
It wasn't until the 1930s that Christmas lights became affordable for middle-class Americans, and by the 1950s they were everywhere. The tradition had completely replaced dangerous candles on Christmas trees.
So every time you untangle those frustrating strings of lights, remember: you're participating in what started as Thomas Edison's marketing campaign to sell electrical systems to skeptical Americans. That "timeless tradition" is actually a 140-year-old advertisement that worked so well it became part of our culture.
