By Jayne Waldorf

It’s only fitting, perhaps, that along with the magic of Santa Claus at Christmas, holiday and Christmas lights also came about through the work of a wizard – the Wizard of Menlo Park in New Jersey – as Thomas Edison was called.

It was Edison who first developed and demonstrated an incandescent electric light bulb in 1879 that had commercial potential, an event that led the way for the mass use of electricity and lights on Christmas tree as used today.

Before the discovery and use of electricity, candles were used to light Christmas trees. That practice evolved into having glass covers with candles inside them or metal lanterns that had small wicks. These were hung like ornaments on Christmas trees. But even after Edison invented the incandescent electric light bulb, it took many years before the large-scale manufacture of Christmas tree lights were available commercially.

It is said that the idea of Christmas lights came from one of Edison’s assistants, Edward Johnson. In 1882, Johnson had Christmas tree bulbs made especially for him. He displayed these electric bulbs on his Christmas tree at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City and it drew widespread attention. But Christmas tree lights underwent many changes and improvement before General Electric Co. introduced Christmas lights on a commercial scale. As an example, among the earlier lights used on Christmas trees were night-lights that were strung together to make light strings. After the commercial introduction of Christmas lights, sales and wide-scale use of them soared.

Decorative mini-lights to be used for Christmas tree lighting were introduced in the 1970s. Since then, they have continued to be popular and are the dominant types of Christmas tree lights in the marketplace. Before that, icicle lights were introduced as decoration for rooflines. Those decorative lights are the most popular ones used for outdoor landscape lighting during the holidays. Outdoor decorative lighting has evolved from Christmas tree lighting to also become a popular way to use colourful lighting during the holidays to create spectacular scenes.

Another development in decorative lighting at Christmas time is the use of candles. Real candles can be used, but electric candles became more popular and safer because they present less threat of a fire hazard. Today that threat has also decreased with the development of flameless battery candles. The battery operation also makes their use more flexible because they can be placed in areas where there aren’t electrical outlets. Candles are usually displayed at several windows of a house during the holidays. They produce an appealing look especially if there are at least two sets of three windows each other where they can be placed.

Battery-operated candles can also be used during Christmas and the holidays for other activities such as carolling, church services, school activities and for other holiday arrangements around the home. As Christmas lights have become a mandatory feature of the holidays, they are continually being used in new ways that differ considerably from their early beginnings. Outdoor lighting is now just as common as indoor lighting and that is an area in which a change in the use of holiday lighting can be seen. Along with icicle lights that illuminate rooflines and frames of houses, there are also lights that are placed in shrubs. Holiday lighting also comes in the shape of trees and other ornaments that can be placed on lawn to enhance the visual appeal during the holidays.

Many lawns are landscaped by lighting during Christmas and the holiday season with lighted figurines and various other items associated with the season. In some communities, entire blocks of streets will have such elaborate holiday lawn lighting that they attract passers-by and even tourists – residents from elsewhere – who are captivated by the spectacular visual displays of the landscaped holiday lighting.

About the Author: Jayne Waldorf has been an internet marketer for over two years and even though her sons are now adults she still loves all things related to Christmas.If you would like more information on Christmas,Christmas Activities,Christmas Food and Drink or great gift ideas please visit Jayne’s Christmas Web Site

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By Amy Nutt.

As someone working in the construction field, knowing the process of creating concrete structures is very important. It is a material that is becoming more popular for all kinds of use from home foundations to even building an entire home from it. The only potential problem with using concrete is that once it sets it is near impossible to fix any mistakes. This is why going over a pre-pour checklist for the concrete is crucial. Here are the things you should be looking over before pouring.

1. Check your documentation. Whether you are in charge of the construction or not, it is a good idea to be sure about what is going on. The documentation will let you know what hours you are allowed to work according to local laws. It will also include information about which machines are being used and what exactly is being done. Just make sure everything is in order.

2. Go over formwork. The formwork is what you’ll be using to mold the concrete. Because the concrete is being used for a specific purpose, it is important for the formwork to match the final design. The forms themselves also have to be in the right condition. Typically this means that the edges all have the proper 90 degree angle and that the form is coated to prevent it from getting stuck into the concrete.

3. Verify reinforcement. The reinforcement is what will keep the concrete where it should be so it’s just as important as the frame to be perfect. Final plans will show you what the reinforcement should look like.

4. Set-ins. In some cases when concrete is being poured, the purpose it is going to serve requires certain things to be embedded in the concrete when it is finished. Make sure that if there are supposed to be embedded items that they are in the right position to be exactly where they are supposed to be.

5. Tool check. The tools are another important part of setting in concrete. Make sure that the tools are in working order before starting to pour the concrete. If any of them have problems it’s important to know before starting the work. Also, have extras just in case they are needed should anything happen to the originals.

6. Check with boss. If you are not the person in charge of the site then the last step you need to take before pouring is to make sure that everything is ready according to your boss. They’ll be able to let you know if there needs to be any last minute adjustments or if something doesn’t match the drawings.

These steps need to be taken no matter what the job is for. This checklist helps you to be professional in your work and also can be a great way to prevent some of the most common mishaps that occur when working with concrete. If you have any personal steps you like to take before you start the job, feel free to add your own steps into the list where you feel they work best for you.

About the Author: Concrete Pumping Ontario provides the customers with trained, professional operators and reliable Concrete Pumping Equipment

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