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When it comes to Christmas embellishing ideas, the buyer is awash in selections each year – mini Christmas lights, purple, red, blue or green LED Christmas lights, candle lights, old-fashioned Christmas tree lights with torpedo-shaped bulbs, LED Christmas light nets – the choices are endless. As the proprietor of a little company that sells a distinctive kind of traditionalisti Christmas Tree Candle, I take delight in watching trends in Christmas decorations and seeing what kind of Christmas tree lights people buy. This little light looms huge in Christmas lore. It has a long and arousing and attention holding history. Christmas Lights — History It all started with the simple Christmas candle, which is credited to Martin Luther who, legend says, came up with the Christmas tree in the 16th century. The Christmas tree pulled through quietly for centuries until electric Christmas tree lighting came on the scene in the early 1900s and, as they say, the rest is history. The primary electric Christmas lights debuted in the White House in 1895, thanks to President Grover Cleveland. The idea started out to catch on, but the lights were expensive, so only the wealthiest of the wealthy could afford them at first. GE begun to offer Christmas light kits in 1903. And starting around 1917, electric Christmas lights on strings begun to make their way into section stores. Costs gradually dropped and the biggest marketer of holiday lights, a company called NOMA, was wildly successful as buyers started out to snap up the new-fangled lights throughout the country. Early Designs Many early Christmas bulbs were shaped to look like what they had replaced: the classic Christmas tree candle. The candle shape fell out of vogue, and in time new varieties shaped like glass balls, animals, lanterns and Santa figures hit the scene. A new and improved candle-shaped bubble light re-emerged later on in the 20th century. This one was filled with percolating colored liquid that cast a flickering light on the tree as the bulb grew warm. You may still most times find vintage bubble Christmas lights like these in flea markets or antiquate shops. Electric Christmas lights continued to hold sway into the 1980s. Today’s buyers have been embracing LED Christmas lights as enthusiastically as their great-grandparents gobbled up the original generation of electric Christmas tree lights 90 years ago. Is the LED Christmas light close to the saturation point? Every year I think so, but then the manufacturers come out with a new twist – LED lights in a web, LED Christmas lights in a big mesh net, blinking LED Christmas tree lights or some other variation. Hope for the LED-Weary Christmas Connoisseur One thing is clear: LED Christmas lights are huge energy savers. That’s a good thing. But virtue has it is price. LED illumination has a dissimilar optical quality — so different that a lot of Christmas-lovers feel it is sterile and devoid of any warmth. LED-skeptic Christmas buffs who want to give their tree a real glow have been boxed in by a lack of selections — but persistence remunerate in the end. There are a few origins that supply the original Christmas Tree Candles and traditionalisti Christmas Tree Candle Holders, and people are beginning to tap them as an alternative. If LED Christmas lights are too soulless for you, but you don’t want to go back to the energy-gobbling electric lights you grew up with, consider switching to conventional Christmas Tree Candles this year. They’ve been around for centuries — much longer than the electric light. And they’re even greener than LED Christmas lights because they consume perfectly no electric power. Christmas Off the Grid Say the idea of an environmentally friendly, candle-powered Christmas tree appeals to you, and you’ve decisive you “won’t take LED for an answer.” You would like to get off the grid and go candle this year. You’ll have to make a few selections – but the routine of looking at the design choices and figuring out what you like best is fun. First, you won’t want to just melt the end of the candle and stick it on your Christmas tree (as Martin Luther is reported to have done). You’ll need Holders for your Christmas Tree Candles. Find a source of good-quality conventional metal Candle Holders. And make sure they’re German – they’re the best. Second, determine what kind of Christmas Tree Candle Holders will look best. This is merely a matter of taste. There’s no right or wrong. The classic Clip On Candle Holder is a standard solution. It clamps on to the branch and has a swivel mechanism so you may adjust it. The Clip-On Christmas Tree Candle Holder is commonly available in silver or gold. The Pendulum Christmas Tree Candle Holder is an older design. It was basi patented in the U.S. in 1867 by Charles Kirchhof. This model has a stem with a weight at the end, which balances the candle holder and helps it stay straight. This model in general has a ball-shaped (Kugel) weight or a star weight. All candle holders have a wax catcher to catch drips before they reach the carpet. Third, get the right kind of Christmas Candle for your candle holders. The fit is crucial, so it’s not worth cutting corners or attempting to alternate another kind of candle. The candle actually has to be snug in the base of the holder for safety reasons. Birthday candles are too thin. Dining candles, tapers and galore pyramid candles are too thick. Make sure you get authenti Christmas Tree Candles. Again, the best are from Germany. Finally: Stay flexible. The vantage of Christmas tree candles is that they don’t restrict your overall design or look. You may use them with other Christmas decorations – for example, your bestloved vintage, oldfashioned or contemporary embellishments or tree toppers – or almost any other decorations you have. If you want, you may even use electric lights and Christmas candles together. Virtue Has it is Rewards Christmas Tree Candles are Kilowatt-Killers. You may feel good in regards to using them because they don’t draw a single watt of electricity. You may also pack them up with your other embellishments at the end of the season and use them again next year. But the real payoff is aesthetic. The sight of a stately evergreen bathed in the soft light of Christmas candles is heart-stoppingly beautiful. Candlelight hushes the heart and casts a warm glow that electric Christmas lights and LED lights just can’t match. Candle power has a way of capturing the Christmas Spirit and spreading it among your family, guests and friends who will be seeing your tree over the holidays. Granted, you have to be careful and use mutual sense (position the candles so the flame won’t get close to anything and stay in the room). But the delight and magic of your candle-powered Christmas tree will last the entire season. Resources I am publishing a series of articles covering the history of Christmas lights, practical tips, and data when it comes to lighting your tree with Christmas Candles. Be on the lookout for these articles. If you are mesmerized in Christmas traditions or are thinking when it comes to “going green” this year, you will find them informative and useful. |
