the FAIRY LIGHTS

Today, it’s hard to imagine a Christmas tree not wrapped in twinkling fairy lights, but it wasn’t until 1882 that electricity was used to bring sparkle to a spruce, replacing candles that posed a !re hazard. Edward H Johnson, then vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, New York, lit up the tree in his Manha"an home with ‘colored globes about as large as an English walnut’ according to The Detroit Post and Tribune. The tree turned on the spot and a"racted a stream of merry passers-by to marvel at the festive display. As spectacular as this launch may have been, it was not until the 1930s, when the cost of electric light bulbs came down, that the fairy light became a common addition to the Christmas decoration box.