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Friday Funny - Christmas



I gave a luncheon talk on Christmas traditions -- middle of the
alphabet -- this week to a group of friends that my wife and I
invited.   I began writing and talking about Christmas traditions
around four years ago after writing a 32-day Christmas devotional
based on Christmas hymns and music, and a second devotional
in 1999 based on traditions (candy canes, etc.).

Anyway I'll try to share some of these as Friday funnies during the
yuletide.    Today's story is about the letter "L" for lights.

In Genesis 1:14, God said of the lights in the firmament "let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years."  Con-
sequently lights are indeed signs and associated with Christmas.
One legend of the Christmas tree is that it was Martin Luther who
fashioned the first Christmas tree and decorated it with lighted
candles to indicate the stars in the sky.   The first illustration that
we have of a Christmas tree printed in the United States appeared
in 1836 in Boston in the book "The Stranger's Gift."  It shows a
tree shining with lit candles.  However candle-lit trees were terribly
dangerous and our ancestors often only lit the candles on a "fresh"
tree on Christmas Eve, and then with a member of the family standing
by with a bucket of water.   Even so, newspapers of the 1870s and
1880s printed many a lurid account of terrible tragedies when fires
started from Christmas tree candles.

Electric lights began to be used in 1882, at least in areas served
by Edison Electric and by 1895, even President Grover Cleveland's
White House Christmas tree was light by electric bulbs.   Today all
of our Christmas lights and designed to be a "sign" and to imitate
the twinkling bright stars of the midnight sky.

My neighbor this year got his Christmas lights up early (Thanksgiving
weekend)...there are zillions and zillions.   I got my Christmas display
up too...it is a simple sign....it reads "See our display next door."

I won't say he's got a lot of lights but when he turns them OFF...the
folks at Gulf Power, go "Whoa!  What was that?!"

Happy Holidays!

Dean

Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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