How Did Christmas Lights Begin?

In this festive episode of I Wonder, kid host Easton takes listeners on a glowing journey through the history of Christmas lights, from ancient candles and firelight to today’s colorful, programmable LEDs. Along the way, discover how holiday lights helped spread electricity, brightened long winter nights, and became a symbol of warmth, hope, and togetherness. A perfect listen for curious families during the holiday season.

Episode Transcript: Why Do We Decorate With Christmas Lights?

Hey there, Curious Minds. Welcome to I Wonder, the show where we explore the questions you've been wondering about. I'm Easton, and I'm excited to be your narrator today. We heard from listeners that they wanted to hear more kids' voices, so I'm here to help bring today's episode to life. And honestly, I've always wanted to try hosting an episode, so thank you for letting me jump in.

Before we get started, remember you can send your own questions anytime at iWonderPodcast.com. We use these ideas to make new episodes.

Today we're exploring something that appears everywhere during the holiday season, Christmas lights. They line rooftops, wrap around trees, brighten city streets, and turn neighborhoods into colorful displays. But how did lights become such a big part of winter celebrations? And how did we go from candles to LEDs that can change color with a tap of your phone? The story of Christmas lights is really the story of how humans bring brightness into the darkest time of the year.  

To understand where this tradition begins, we have to go back long before electricity existed. In many places around the world, winter meant short days and very long nights. For thousands of years, people lit fires, torches, and candles during the darkest weeks of the year to remind themselves that light would return. These celebrations weren't called Christmas, but they shared a simple idea. When the world felt cold and dim, light brought comfort and hope.

Centuries later, in the 1500s, in parts of Germany, people began ringing evergreen trees indoors during Christmas. And eventually they added candles to them. Yes, real candles with tiny flames attached to the branches. Families lit them only for a few minutes, and everyone stayed close with buckets of water just in case. Before those few minutes, the glow of the candlelight reflecting off the dark green needles must have felt warm, peaceful, and special. That was the beginning of Christmas lights as we know them.

Everything changed in 1882. That's when Edward Johnson, who worked with Thomas Edison, created the first string of electric Christmas lights. He wrapped 80 small bulbs, red, white, and blue, around a tree in his New York City home and invited people to see it. For most visitors, this was their first time ever seeing electric lights. Newspapers wrote about how the tree glowed without a single flame. It was safe, bright, and completely new. But here's the surprising part. Early electric lights were incredibly expensive. A single strand would cost more than a month's salary. Sometimes people even rented Christmas lights for the season instead of buying them. Because of the high price, big department stores and wealthy families were the first to use electric lights. But those displays attracted crowds, and those crowds helped something important happen. Christmas lights convinced people that electricity was worth having in their homes.

Before Christmas lights, electricity felt mysterious and even a little scary. But a glowing holiday tree made electricity seem beautiful and useful. Light companies realized this and started using holiday displays to show just how impressive electric lights could be. In a way, Christmas lights helped speed up the spread of electricity across North America. They made people want the power to create that soft winter glow in their homes.

As electricity became more common, Christmas lights also began to change. At first, all lights were white because that was the only type of bulb that existed. But soon manufacturers started hand painting bulbs in different colors. Red and green arrived first, then blue, yellow, and eventually whole strands of multi-colored lights.

By the early 1900s, stores used huge glowing displays to attract holiday shoppers, and families decorated both trees and windows with colorful strands. In the 1920s and 1930s, lights grew larger and brighter. That's when the famous C6 and C7 bulbs were introduced. Oval-shaped bulbs that glowed with rich color and were sturdy enough for outdoor use. For the first time, people could decorate the outside of their homes, not just their trees. Entire neighborhoods began lighting up, and the idea of a holiday display really took off. Then came the 1950s and 60s when bubble lights became popular. These lights had colorful liquid inside that bubbled when warmed by the bulb. Kids loved watching them. They looked like tiny laval lamps decorating the tree. In 1970s and 80s, mini lights took over. These were small, cool-to-the-touch bulbs that made it easy to wrap lights around trees, fences, and bushes. Suddenly, decorating became a bigger and brighter than ever before. It was no longer just one strand on a tree. It was hundreds of tiny lights creating a gentle shimmering glow.

Today, most lights are LEDs, and LEDs changed everything. They use far less energy, last a long time, and stay cool. They can shine in almost any color you can imagine, and some can even shift from warm white to icy blue or fade through rainbow patterns. With LEDs, lights aren't just decorations. They're programmable displays. Some flash to music, some synchronized patterns, and some create whole scenes that move across a house. But even with all that technology, the reason we use lights hasn't changed much. Lights still make long winters feel warmer. They make homes look welcoming when the world outside is cold and quiet. They help us celebrate, gather, and feel connected. And whether it's a simple string around a window or a whole street lit up in different colors, the glow of holiday lights reminds us of something people have known for thousands of years. Even in the darkest seasons, a little light goes a long way.

Before we wrap up, take a moment to think about the lights in your neighborhood. Maybe there's a house that goes all out every year, or maybe your family has a favorite color they always use. Whatever your traditions look like, they're part of a story that started with candles, grew with the electricity, and continues to shine today.

Thanks for listening, and until next time, stay curious and keep wondering.