It's only fitting that, along with the magic of Santa Claus at Christmas, holiday and Christmas lights also came about through the work of a wizard - the Wizard of Menlo Park in New Jersey, as Thomas Edison was called. It was Edison who first developed and demonstrated an incandescent electric light bulb in 1879, an event that led the way for the mass use of electricity and lights on Christmas Trees as used today.
Before the discovery and use of electricity, candles were used to light Christmas Trees. That practice evolved into having glass covers with candles inside them, or metal lanterns that had small wicks. These were hung like ornaments on Christmas Trees. However, even after Edison invented the incandescent electric light bulb, it took many years before the large-scale manufacture of Christmas Tree lights were available commercially.
It is said that the idea of Christmas lights came from one of Edison's assistants, Edward Johnson. In 1882, Johnson had Christmas Tree bulbs made especially for him. He displayed these electric bulbs on his Christmas Tree at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City and it drew widespread attention. Christmas Tree lights underwent many changes and improvements before General Electric Company introduced Christmas lights on a commercial scale. Among the earlier lights used on Christmas Trees were night-lights that were strung together to make light strings. After the commercial introduction of Christmas lights, sales and wide-scale use of them soared.
Decorative mini-lights to be used for Christmas Tree lighting were introduced in the 1970s. Since then, they have continued to be popular and are the dominant type of Christmas Tree lights in the marketplace. Before that, icicle lights were introduced as decoration for rooflines. Those decorative lights are the most popular ones used for outdoor landscape lighting during the holidays. Outdoor decorative lighting has evolved from Christmas Tree lighting to now being a popular way to use colorful lighting to create spectacular scenes.
Another development in decorative lighting at Christmas time is the use of candles. Real candles can be used, but electric candles have become more popular because they are safer and they are less of a fire hazard. Today that threat has also decreased with the development of flameless battery candles. The battery operation makes their use more flexible because they can be placed in areas where there aren't electrical outlets. Candles can be displayed at several windows of a house during the holidays. Battery-operated candles can also be used for other activities such as caroling, church services, school activities, and for other holiday arrangements around the home.
As Christmas lights have become a mandatory feature of the holidays, they are continually being used in new ways that differ considerably from their early beginnings. Outdoor lighting is now just as common as indoor lighting and that is an area in which a change in the use of holiday lighting is very obvious. Along with icicle lights that illuminate rooflines and the frames of houses, there are also lights that are placed in shrubs. Holiday lighting also comes in the shape of trees and other ornaments that can be placed on lawns to enhance these holiday scenes during the holidays.
Many lawns are landscaped by lighting during Christmas and the holiday season with lighted figurines and other items associated with the season. In some communities, entire blocks of streets will have such elaborate holiday lawn lighting that they attract passersby and even tourists - residents from elsewhere - who are captivated by the spectacular visual displays.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Decorating Hints for Christmas
With so many decorative choices at Christmas, a strategy is needed to ensure that whatever is done looks organized, well-arranged, and beautiful, rather than haphazard and disorganized. By doing some basic or traditional decoration, along with trying creative and different ideas, a beautiful and pleasing decorative environment can be created in every home.
Traditional decorating ideas include using wreaths for doors or entranceways and on walls with unobstructed views. Garlands can be placed along surfaces where they can be hung vertically or horizontally. Christmas lights can be used by themselves or with garlands, in shrubs and, of course, on Christmas Trees.
Using Christmas lights outdoors has become very popular. Icicle lights are just as easy as regular lights to put in place and they create a very pleasing display for the holiday season. Adding color to these outdoor light displays can also make houses and lighting displays look more spectacular.
For indoor lighting, candles have become an attractive Christmas decorative item as they can light up the night in a subdued, but beautiful, manner. Candles create a pleasing look when displayed at windows if there are at least two sets of two or three windows directly above each other, in a vertical pattern. New technologies with candles have also made them safer to use. There are electrical candles, but there are also battery-operated types that can be used safely instead of the electrical ones, or in places where there aren't any electrical outlets.
There are creative ways to use and incorporate various items around the home to make Christmas decorations. Christmas or holiday ribbons can be used to make bows that are pinned onto curtains to provide a festive look. Like curtains, houseplants can also be dressed up for the holidays. Small Christmas ornaments can be gently placed on houseplants to give porches, patios, and front lawns a wonderful Christmas look.
Although many people don't use Christmas stockings anymore for Christmas gifts, they can still be used to create perfect Christmas decorations. A collection of Christmas stockings can be hung on the mantle, shelf, or on walls, with or without anything inside them. They will look just as beautiful as those that are often seen in stores.
Christmas lights can also be wrapped along with garlands on a banister or stair railing to add a twinkling Christmas look. Mistletoe can be hung just about anywhere, with or without Christmas lights. If the tale about mistletoe is believed, however, then it should be hung somewhere with room underneath for two people to have a friendly holiday kiss or even a hug. Fake snow can be sprinkled on garlands, mistletoess and wreaths to further enhance their appearance with something from the Christmas season.
Borrowing a decoration often seen in department stores, several boxes of various sizes can be wrapped, piled in a haphazard manner, and placed in a corner from floor to ceiling to make a gift pillar decoration. Old Christmas cards can be used for decorations by cutting pictures from them to make a collage. The pictures are glued onto a poster board that can be hung on a wall. Even Christmas cookie cutters can be put to an easy and creative use by stringing two or three of them together with Christmas ribbon.
With all of these wonderful ideas, any home can be festively decorated for Christmas and the holidays.
Traditional decorating ideas include using wreaths for doors or entranceways and on walls with unobstructed views. Garlands can be placed along surfaces where they can be hung vertically or horizontally. Christmas lights can be used by themselves or with garlands, in shrubs and, of course, on Christmas Trees.
Using Christmas lights outdoors has become very popular. Icicle lights are just as easy as regular lights to put in place and they create a very pleasing display for the holiday season. Adding color to these outdoor light displays can also make houses and lighting displays look more spectacular.
For indoor lighting, candles have become an attractive Christmas decorative item as they can light up the night in a subdued, but beautiful, manner. Candles create a pleasing look when displayed at windows if there are at least two sets of two or three windows directly above each other, in a vertical pattern. New technologies with candles have also made them safer to use. There are electrical candles, but there are also battery-operated types that can be used safely instead of the electrical ones, or in places where there aren't any electrical outlets.
There are creative ways to use and incorporate various items around the home to make Christmas decorations. Christmas or holiday ribbons can be used to make bows that are pinned onto curtains to provide a festive look. Like curtains, houseplants can also be dressed up for the holidays. Small Christmas ornaments can be gently placed on houseplants to give porches, patios, and front lawns a wonderful Christmas look.
Although many people don't use Christmas stockings anymore for Christmas gifts, they can still be used to create perfect Christmas decorations. A collection of Christmas stockings can be hung on the mantle, shelf, or on walls, with or without anything inside them. They will look just as beautiful as those that are often seen in stores.
Christmas lights can also be wrapped along with garlands on a banister or stair railing to add a twinkling Christmas look. Mistletoe can be hung just about anywhere, with or without Christmas lights. If the tale about mistletoe is believed, however, then it should be hung somewhere with room underneath for two people to have a friendly holiday kiss or even a hug. Fake snow can be sprinkled on garlands, mistletoess and wreaths to further enhance their appearance with something from the Christmas season.
Borrowing a decoration often seen in department stores, several boxes of various sizes can be wrapped, piled in a haphazard manner, and placed in a corner from floor to ceiling to make a gift pillar decoration. Old Christmas cards can be used for decorations by cutting pictures from them to make a collage. The pictures are glued onto a poster board that can be hung on a wall. Even Christmas cookie cutters can be put to an easy and creative use by stringing two or three of them together with Christmas ribbon.
With all of these wonderful ideas, any home can be festively decorated for Christmas and the holidays.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Christmas Decorations
The various types of decorations used at Christmas give a sparkling look to everything and puts splendor into the season. The Christmas Tree, with its myriad decorations, is a standard and central decorative element of Christmas; but the presence of the Christmas Tree is enhanced by decorations such as wreaths, garlands, lights, and figurines.
Wreaths have a circular shape and are often used as a decorative piece on a door. Variations of wreaths include berry, grapevine, poinsettia, and snow. The berry wreath may include small clusters of red berries, holly leaves, possibly with features such as gold tint, pine cones, or pine needles. A grapevine wreath has a vine-like look and may have pine sprigs and clusters of red berries. Poinsettia wreaths showcase leaves that are various shades of red, and may have glittered fruits such as pears, apples, and grape clusters throughout its structure. Depending on the size of the poinsettia wreath, it may also have large or small pine cones, pine sprigs, and holly leaves. Then there are snow wreaths that have an icy look from pine cones that are sprinkled with snow and scattered throughout the wreath.
Garlands are primarily used to decorate stairways, banisters, and mantles. Garlands also have variations such as those with twinkling lights, tiny ornaments, or tinsel for sparkle. Others, such as a mixed needle lighted garland, would have branches of wide and thin pine needles and Christmas lights.
Christmas lights come in various forms and are used in numerous ways to make homes and business places shine and sparkle during the holidays. Christmas lights may be colored or plain and they may or may not twinkle. They may be single-stringed or they may have multiple strings which are hung to create a look like icicles.
To beautify houses during the Christmas season, Christmas lights may be strung around the roof line, in shrubs, placed at windows to form different patterns, and placed on patios or porches to hang as icicles. Lighted candles are also used in windows to make them visually appealing.
Another type of lighted decoration seen during Christmas is in the form of figures that are placed on lawns. It's a matter of personal taste how many figures to place on lawns. Some prefer a lot of pieces, while others find just a single one to be attractive.
Christmas Trees are the standard decorative elements during the season. They may be real or artificial and can be placed inside or outside. If placed outside, they should be lighted and they should be placed in a sufficiently lit area to maximize their visual beauty. Christmas Trees are wonderful to decorate because the entire family can participate in the decorating process by placing the ornaments, baubles, lights, and tinsel on the tree. Some ornaments may even be personal, such as hand-made items or treasured keepsake mementos. When these are placed on the tree every year, it can become a tradition that is kept in the family which creates a special memory as each Christmas comes around.
Poinsettia flowers, with their flaming red leaves, are also a staple decoration at Christmas time. They can be placed wherever it's suitable to place plants. Poinsettias are commonly used around offices and personal work spaces during the Christmas season.
If there's snow and a lucky “White Christmas,” especially on Christmas Day, then it's worth it to bundle up with the children and jump into the snow to make a “Frosty Snowman.” While a smiling snowman on the lawn is a temporary decorative feature during Christmas, it's always a great delight because it means that children were out playing in the snow and having fun.
Given the many ways in which Christmas decorations can be used, everyone can have some pleasure and be creative in arranging some form of Christmas decoration to add their own sparkle and twinkle to the holidays.
Wreaths have a circular shape and are often used as a decorative piece on a door. Variations of wreaths include berry, grapevine, poinsettia, and snow. The berry wreath may include small clusters of red berries, holly leaves, possibly with features such as gold tint, pine cones, or pine needles. A grapevine wreath has a vine-like look and may have pine sprigs and clusters of red berries. Poinsettia wreaths showcase leaves that are various shades of red, and may have glittered fruits such as pears, apples, and grape clusters throughout its structure. Depending on the size of the poinsettia wreath, it may also have large or small pine cones, pine sprigs, and holly leaves. Then there are snow wreaths that have an icy look from pine cones that are sprinkled with snow and scattered throughout the wreath.
Garlands are primarily used to decorate stairways, banisters, and mantles. Garlands also have variations such as those with twinkling lights, tiny ornaments, or tinsel for sparkle. Others, such as a mixed needle lighted garland, would have branches of wide and thin pine needles and Christmas lights.
Christmas lights come in various forms and are used in numerous ways to make homes and business places shine and sparkle during the holidays. Christmas lights may be colored or plain and they may or may not twinkle. They may be single-stringed or they may have multiple strings which are hung to create a look like icicles.
To beautify houses during the Christmas season, Christmas lights may be strung around the roof line, in shrubs, placed at windows to form different patterns, and placed on patios or porches to hang as icicles. Lighted candles are also used in windows to make them visually appealing.
Another type of lighted decoration seen during Christmas is in the form of figures that are placed on lawns. It's a matter of personal taste how many figures to place on lawns. Some prefer a lot of pieces, while others find just a single one to be attractive.
Christmas Trees are the standard decorative elements during the season. They may be real or artificial and can be placed inside or outside. If placed outside, they should be lighted and they should be placed in a sufficiently lit area to maximize their visual beauty. Christmas Trees are wonderful to decorate because the entire family can participate in the decorating process by placing the ornaments, baubles, lights, and tinsel on the tree. Some ornaments may even be personal, such as hand-made items or treasured keepsake mementos. When these are placed on the tree every year, it can become a tradition that is kept in the family which creates a special memory as each Christmas comes around.
Poinsettia flowers, with their flaming red leaves, are also a staple decoration at Christmas time. They can be placed wherever it's suitable to place plants. Poinsettias are commonly used around offices and personal work spaces during the Christmas season.
If there's snow and a lucky “White Christmas,” especially on Christmas Day, then it's worth it to bundle up with the children and jump into the snow to make a “Frosty Snowman.” While a smiling snowman on the lawn is a temporary decorative feature during Christmas, it's always a great delight because it means that children were out playing in the snow and having fun.
Given the many ways in which Christmas decorations can be used, everyone can have some pleasure and be creative in arranging some form of Christmas decoration to add their own sparkle and twinkle to the holidays.
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