The first electric Christmas lights were displayed in the home of Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, just three years after the light bulb was invented.

1
The first electric Christmas lights were
displayed in the home of Edward Johnson, a
colleague of Thomas Edison, just three years
after the light bulb was invented.
2
Johnson's tree had hand wired lights in the
patriotic colors of red, white and blue. The
lights flashed alternately, and the tree rotated
as well.
3
Early in their history, Christmas lights were so
expensive that they were more commonly rented
than sold.
4
Many of the earliest Christmas lights burned so
hot that they were about as dangerous as the
candles they were advertised to replace.