Going back to Anglo-Saxon pagan tradition of origin, first references of lighting the Yule log are rooted in 12th-century Germany.
By the 17th century, Christians had melded pagan mythos with their own.
The practice of the Yule log had evolved into lighting small candles on the iconic Christmas tree.
Christmas lights actually started out just as candles.
These candles were attached to the tree using wax or pins.
The practice began in Germany during the 17th century and over the next 200 or so years; it became an established practice in Germany and began to spread out into other countries of Eastern Europe.
Throughout history, candles have been used to ward off darkness and evil.
The first use of candles in December was during the Roman Saturnalia festival, where tall tapers of wax were offered to Saturn as a symbol of his light and also given as a gift to guests.
The Pagans also used candles during their Yule festivities, with candlelight and bonfires being used to welcome the nights beginning to get lighter.
As Christianity became more widespread, candles were put in the front windows of houses in order to guide Jesus as he went from house to house on Christmas Eve, wait, isn’t that Santa’s job?
Even though families would use candles to light up their Christmas trees, this practice was dangerous and led to many home fires.
Edward H. Johnson put the very first string of electric Christmas tree lights together in 1882.
He hand-wired 80 red, white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree.
Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity and candles would soon be history.
And now these days, there are so many varieties of Christmas lights to choose from.
