“It’s been Christmas since the end of October. The lights come on earlier and earlier, while the people are more and more intermittent. I would like a December with the lights off and the people on…”, words of Charles Bukowski.

The date is not certain, but it is nice to think that it was Christmas Eve: in 1882 Edward H. Johnson, friend and partner of Thomas Edison, decorated his Christmas tree with the first string of electric lights in his New York home.

Today’s almanac, December 24th: an electric Christmas

Some time had to pass before the Americans accepted the news. A helping hand was given by President Calvin Coolidge, who on December 24, 1923 had the White House fir tree decorated with 3 thousand light bulbs. Until then, families used to garnish it with candles.

A beautiful yet dangerous habit: it is no coincidence that a nice bucket of water was always kept alongside the gifts.