The Year without a real Christmas Tree inside. Plumbing work and a new dog that would destroy both the branches and the ornaments. A loss but not a deal breaker here. I am sure it will be back next year. I have plenty of other holiday traditions with cookies, skating and TONS of outdoor lights.
Last year I featured a photo blog post of vintage cocktail dresses around vintage trees. Here is another link to Retro trees from the 50's & 60's that capture both the home and the resident of it. Some vivid snapshots for sure.
Full link below: Mindcircle; People and their Trees
I have always been festive in terms of holiday decorating. But most of it had been an indoor vibe - the tree, the banister, some flash around the window panes. The first few years I moved into the house, I did construct this tacky blue star out of left over lumber scraps and hoisted it above the door for a few year until the entire unit collapsed on the side of the house. Curiosity was rekindled a few years back when I started at Gertens and holiday lighting became a part of my vocabulary. So each year I grab more on clearance and this year, have a Snoopy's House collection of dripping icicles; multi color LEDs and a big candy cane birch tree. With perfectly coordinated timers and a quilt of extension cords buried in the snow, I enjoy pulling home every night to the brightest house on the block.
Complete credit for this post goes to Karen Cooper who published a smart piece in the Southwest Journal about the history of holiday lights in Minneapolis. It states that it took only 3 years from the invention of the electric light bulb for it to emerge into the holiday market. And of course it was New York City that featured the first lit Christmas tree in 1882. The budding trend was 1st noted in Minnesota at the turn of the century when Henry Boos took the headlights from his auto to illuminate a giant evergreen nearby at 26th & Elliot.
But the true phenomenon arrived in 1914 with a city-wide effort to cloak Minneapolis in a holiday glow by encouraging many homes to light electric candles in their window sills. This was simplicity, and as costs of electric strings became more economical, displays evolved. Thus, by 1926 the fad became a contest decreed by mayor George Leach & the Minneapolis Electrical League. I was interested to find that this League was a civic/ commercial board which was promoting the concept of residential electric to the general public in those days. That seems so foreign to us 100 years later when current travels without a thought. But with this contest, Minneapolis was divided into different zones and a panel of judges would deem which neighborhood was awarded the prize in a quest to make it the "Brightest City in America." Who knew?
In only it's 2nd year the Chamber of Commerce and Retail Association jumped in and downtown saw miles of garlands and light strings culminating in a 75 foot tall tree at the pivotal Gateway Park. Henry Boos who was mentioned earlier, had now grown from car headlights into a mechanical Santa that climbed up his chimney on the roof. Homes began to outline their silhouettes in colored strings. Yard figures appeared. There were patriotic displays, manger creches, and oodles of snowmen.
Prizes were usually donations of electrical appliances like toasters and radios; eventually even television sets! It sounds pretty old-school, but the Minneapolis Jaycees kept this competition going until 1970 - a 44 year tradition. Sadly, because of the lack of color photography, there are limited pictures of the early displays. Attached is a single photo from the Journal article along with a few more vintage shots.
Read the original feature below.
Southwest Journal - History of City Light Displays
