Denver Lighting makes History

DENVER – Every holiday tradition has to start somewhere and one of the most popular ones – stringing colored lights on our Christmas trees – began in Denver in 1914 when a local electrician dipped light bulbs in colored paint to decorate a tree outside his son's room. Local newspapers touted the practical safety benefits of using lights instead of candles on Christmas trees and soon strings of colored lights were being manufactured and used across the country.

Denver's downtown also set a standard of public holiday decorating in the first half of the century, culminating in the city being dubbed the Christmas City of the World in 1932.

The city lit and decorated its streets and public parks in patriotic themes during World War I. A local department store even imported live reindeer and an Eskimo with a faux igloo to a downtown park as a promotion in the 1920s.

Last year, the downtown decorating tradition was revived in Denver and Larimar Square with large-scale decorating programs. The highlight of the program was animated storefront window displays on the 16th Street Mall and Larimar Square, which will be updated for this year.

Each animated window scene on Larimar Square depicts images of Victorian life, including scenes from literature, holiday traditions and family outings. The 16th Street windows depict holiday traditions from other cultures and original holiday stories.

In addition to the lights, downtown Denver activities will include the annual tree lighting ceremony, the 25th annual tuba concert, a parade and Santa's workshop for children.

article used from (303) 478-7878 – www.downtowndenver.citysearch.com