How the Christmas Tree Got Its Lights
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Like so many American traditions, the Christmas tree emerged from the hearty jumble of 19th-century immigrant custom and religious observance, spun up in the post-Civil War national rebuilding project, and became industrialized and commercialized in the great acceleration of modern times.
From its 1840s incarnation as a small plant placed on a table so that Kriss Kringle would have a place to put presents, the Christmas tree grew into a particular kind of technological spectacle. The lights in our trees might seem commonplace or trite, but once upon a time (and a time not long ago, in a place very close to home), they became a symbol of progress and the power of electricity to make light without flames.
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