Making your holidays sparkle with the right lighting displays is a wonderful way to express your creativity and your Christmas Spirit. Unfortunately, far too many people don't take the necessary precautions to insure that their lighted decorations are safe for their home and families. Every year, thousands of home electrical fires are caused by improper lighting and extension cord use.
Avoid turning your holidays into a disaster by following these simple holiday lighting tips:
-Always check for cracked or loose sockets and connections. Be sure to replaced broken bulbs, exposed and frayed wires or scorched insulation before plugging in lights. Even new ones should be checked for safety defaults.
-Once you've plugged in your lights, lay them on a non flammable surface for at least 15 minutes and watch for shorts, sparking, melting or other signs of overheating.
-Make sure that your lights are UL Listed, which means that they have been inspected and approved for all U.S. safety recommendations.
-Keep your tree watered daily. Dry needles can spark easily when heated by lights, causing a fire.
-Keep tree lights away from direct contact with needles and branches.
-Make sure all artificial trees are fire retardant
-Never use indoor lights, decorations or extension cords out of doors, even if they will be protected by the weather. Be sure they are rated for outside use. Lights intended for indoor use feature green UL markings and tags, while those safe for outdoor use feature red UL markings and tags. Those that can be used either indoors or outdoors will bear the red UL markings and tags.
-Always plug outdoor lighting and decorations into a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet.
-Always follow the manufacturer's guidelines for outdoor lighting use. Check to make sure if they contain any weather or temperature restrictions, especially if you live in a harsher climate.
-Never leave either indoor or outdoor lighting or decorations on while asleep or away from home. Use a timer to ensure that aren't accidentally forgotten.
-Never plug more than three strings of lights into a single extension cord, and never plug multiple extension cords together on one circuit.
-Never use metal staples or nails to hang light strings. They can damage the protective insulation around the wires and cause an electrical short. Opt for plastic fasteners instead.
-Never run extension cords across sidewalks or driveways.
-Never use a metal ladder when hanging lights.
Holiday lighting and decorative displays both inside and outside your home can be a beautiful way to celebrate the holidays - if you take the time to ensure that they are safe.
For example the Christmas lights, in the Christian faith, represent their founder Jesus Christ who proclaimed that he was the light of the world. In addition, the decorations symbolize the Christians faith such as stars, angels, representation from the manger scene, etc. In addition the decorations can represent the unity of a family as depicted through the use of school picture ornaments, school artwork, stringing of popcorn, paper chains, etc.
History
The history of Christmas lights and decorations dates back many centuries. Martin Luther is often attributed with providing the first illumination on the Christmas tree through the attachment of candles to the branches. Tradition shares with us that this action by Martin Luther was taken to teach his children about his savior being the light of the world.
In addition, there are many beliefs, from various belief systems, that attribute the decoration of the tree and other parts of the home to symbolize good luck and the warding off of evil spirits. For example the placing of holly and mistletoe over the doorway was a practice initiated by the Druids to ward off evil spirits.
Therefore, the history of Christmas lights and decorations is a combination of many religions and belief systems. The use of Christmas lights and decorations can represent a variety of different cultures, religions and individual expressions of ones own spirituality.
Different Types of Lights and Decorations
The Christmas lights and decorations, as it is with all things, evolved. With the advent of the light bulb, miniaturized versions, in various colored glass, soon found themselves attached to the tree limbs and served as decorations. Some of the first strings of lights had a screw in base and were roughly one and one-half inches length. These early style Christmas lights often tried the patience of those who trimmed their tree with this system. This was due to the fact that once one light went out all of the lights went out. This meant that in order to activate all the lights the individual bulb, that had malfunctioned, needed to be located.
Then, the silver aluminum tree appeared in homes. Often the Christmas lights and decorations that were used to trim this tree were simple in nature. That simplicity was captured through ornaments placed on the tree that were in one color and the lighting was focused on the tree from a flood lamp. The high intensity wattage of the flood lamp was radiated through a revolving multicolored plastic wheel.
Down through the years Christmas lights and decorations have continued to evolve. This evolutionary process has taken decorative lighting into fiber optics, running lights and twinkling lights. In addition, Christmas lights and decorations have been combined in that the ornament itself is constructed with miniature size bulbs which allows for the design of the ornament to light up. These ornamental designs take on the appearance of snowmen, candy canes and other holiday designs associated with the Christmas season.
Both Matthew Hick & Rohit Chopra are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.