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114-577: The Tucson Girls Chorus was founded in 1984 by Margie Kersey, who had been working as a music teacher since 1965. The initial call for auditions attracted 63 girls, and the first concert took place in spring 1985. By 1986, choirs were performing at local events such as the Tucson Rodeo Parade and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. The first U.S. tour took place in April 1987 in Los Angeles , California, and

228-408: A line shaft . Dogs were sometimes used on machines such as a treadmill, which could be adapted to churn butter. In the late 19th century specially designed power buildings leased space to small shops. These building supplied power to the tenants from a steam engine through line shafts. Electric motors were several times more efficient than small steam engines because central station generation

342-514: A Christmas party for the officers at Sorel , Quebec, delighting their guests with a fir tree decorated with candles and fruits. The Christmas tree became very common in the United States of America in the early 19th century. Dating from late 1812 or early 1813, the watercolor sketchbooks of John Lewis Krimmel contain perhaps the earliest depictions of a Christmas tree in American art, representing

456-491: A Christmas tree to Washington, D.C. , as a symbol of friendship between Norway and the US and as an expression of gratitude from Norway for the help received from the US during World War II . Both setting up and taking down a Christmas tree are associated with specific dates; liturgically, this is done through the hanging of the greens ceremony. In many areas, it has become customary to set up one's Christmas tree on Advent Sunday ,

570-717: A Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539 under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer Martin Bucer . The Moravian Christians put lighted candles on those trees." The earliest known firmly dated representation of a Christmas tree is on the keystone sculpture of a private home in Turckheim , Alsace (then part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation , today part of France), with

684-533: A German immigrant to Boston, for being the first to introduce to America the custom of decorating a Christmas tree. In 1847, August Imgard, a German immigrant living in Wooster, Ohio cut a blue spruce tree from a woods outside town, had the Wooster village tinsmith construct a star, and placed the tree in his house, decorating it with paper ornaments, gilded nuts and Kuchen . German immigrant Charles Minnigerode accepted

798-576: A Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree in 1777 while imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House, while the "First Christmas Tree in America" is also claimed by Easton, Pennsylvania , where German settlers purportedly erected a Christmas tree in 1816. In his diary, Matthew Zahm of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , recorded the use of a Christmas tree in 1821, leading Lancaster to also lay claim to the first Christmas tree in America. Other accounts credit Charles Follen ,

912-449: A charity was set up specifically to ensure even poor children in London slums "who had never seen a Christmas tree" would enjoy one that year. Anti-German sentiment after World War   I briefly reduced their popularity but the effect was short-lived, and by the mid-1920s the use of Christmas trees had spread to all classes. In 1933, a restriction on the importation of foreign trees led to

1026-457: A fairy tale called The Fir-Tree in 1844, recounting the fate of a fir tree being used as a Christmas tree. By the early 18th century, the custom had become common in towns of the upper Rhineland, but it had not yet spread to rural areas. Wax candles, expensive items at the time, are found in attestations from the late 18th century. Along the Lower Rhine , an area of Roman Catholic majority,

1140-502: A family celebrating Christmas Eve in the Moravian tradition. The first published image of a Christmas tree appeared in 1836 as the frontispiece to The Stranger's Gift by Hermann Bokum. The first mention of the Christmas tree in American literature was in a story in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir , titled "New Year's Day", by Catherine Maria Sedgwick , where she tells

1254-424: A light arc with carbon electrodes. However, it was not used to any great extent until a practical means of generating electricity was developed. Carbon arc lamps were started by making contact between two carbon electrodes, which were then separated to within a narrow gap. Because the carbon burned away, the gap had to be constantly readjusted. Several mechanisms were developed to regulate the arc. A common approach

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1368-407: A moment's notice, require no expense of time for its management and be of modest cost both in original cost and in daily expense. To be efficient steam engines needed to be several hundred horsepower. Steam engines and boilers also required operators and maintenance. For these reasons the smallest commercial steam engines were about 2 horsepower. This was above the need for many small shops. Also,

1482-698: A native of Bogotá , Colombia, and holder of a doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Arizona , launched membership drives and also broadened the group's community outreach. The chorus regained its footing and began increasing its membership and profile. Each of the main choirs performs in a public concert in May and December. Touring takes place in the spring, with the Jubilate Choir performing in regional concerts in California , New Mexico , and Washington , and

1596-473: A newspaper advertisement for Christmas trees makes clear their smart cachet, German origins and association with children and gift-giving. An illustrated book, The Christmas Tree , describing their use and origins in detail, was on sale in December 1844. On 2   January 1846, Elizabeth Fielding (née Fox Strangways) wrote from Lacock Abbey to William Henry Fox-Talbot : "Constance is extremely busy preparing

1710-535: A parliamentary committee recommended passage of the landmark 1882 Electric Lighting Act, which allowed the licensing of persons, companies or local authorities to supply electricity for any public or private purposes. The first large scale central power station in America was Edison's Pearl Street Station in New York, which began operating in September 1882. The station had six 200 horsepower Edison dynamos, each powered by

1824-633: A position as a professor of humanities at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia , in 1842, where he taught Latin and Greek. Entering into the social life of the Virginia Tidewater , Minnigerode introduced the German custom of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas at the home of law professor St. George Tucker , thereby becoming another of many influences that prompted Americans to adopt

1938-494: A report picked up by other papers, described the trees in Windsor Castle in detail and showed the main tree, surrounded by the royal family, on its cover. In fewer than ten years, the adoption of the tradition in middle and upper-class homes was widespread. By 1856, a northern provincial newspaper contained an advert alluding casually to them, as well as reporting the accidental death of a woman whose dress caught fire as she lit

2052-430: A residential HP+PV system. It found that under typical inflation conditions, the lifecycle cost of natural gas and reversible, air-source heat pumps are nearly identical, which in part explains why heat pump sales have surpassed gas furnace sales in the U.S. for the first time during a period of high inflation. With higher rates of inflation or lower PV capital costs, PV becomes a hedge against rising prices and encourages

2166-489: A rocking switch. Later segmented commutators were used to produce direct current. Around 1838-40, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone developed a telegraph. In 1840 Wheatstone was using a magneto that he developed to power the telegraph. Wheatstone and Cooke made an important improvement in electrical generation by using a battery-powered electromagnet in place of a permanent magnet, which they patented in 1845. The self-excited magnetic field dynamo did away with

2280-470: A separate steam engine. It was located in a business and commercial district and supplied 110 volt direct current to 85 customers with 400 lamps. By 1884 Pearl Street was supplying 508 customers with 10,164 lamps. By the mid-1880s, other electric companies were establishing central power stations and distributing electricity, including Crompton & Co. and the Swan Electric Light Company in

2394-761: A small coniferous tree. These pale-colored ornaments differ in height from 20 cm (7.9 in) to 3 meters (9.8 ft). Chichilakis are most common in the Guria and Samegrelo regions of Georgia near the Black Sea , but they can also be found in some stores around the capital of Tbilisi . Georgians believe that Chichilaki resembles the famous beard of St. Basil the Great , because Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates St. Basil on 1 January. The earliest reference of Christmas trees being used in The Bahamas dates to January 1864 and

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2508-451: A small steam engine and boiler cost about $ 7,000 while an old blind horse that could develop 1/2 horsepower cost $ 20 or less. Machinery to use horses for power cost $ 300 or less. Many power requirements were less than that of a horse. Shop machines, such as woodworking lathes, were often powered with a one- or two-man crank. Household sewing machines were powered with a foot treadle; however, factory sewing machines were steam-powered from

2622-404: A small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels, and paper flowers" was erected in the guild-house for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas Day. In 1584, the pastor and chronicler Balthasar Russow in his Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt (1584) wrote of an established tradition of setting up a decorated spruce at the market square, where

2736-585: A sustainable way. Similarly, many households in the developing and developed world suffer from fuel poverty and cannot heat their houses enough. Existing heating practices are often polluting. A key sustainable solution to heating is electrification ( heat pumps , or the less efficient electric heater ). The IEA estimates that heat pumps currently provide only 5% of space and water heating requirements globally, but could provide over 90%. Use of ground source heat pumps not only reduces total annual energy loads associated with heating and cooling, it also flattens

2850-523: A symbol of socialism and Slavic mythology , strongly associated with loyalty, courage, and dignity. However, spruce retained its popularity in Slovenian homes during those years and came back to public places after independence. Although the tradition of decorating churches and homes with evergreens at Christmas was long established, the custom of decorating an entire small tree was unknown in Britain until

2964-421: A thermal battery into the heat pump+solar energy heating system. It is easier to sustainably produce electricity than it is to sustainably produce liquid fuels. Therefore, adoption of electric vehicles is a way to make transport more sustainable. Hydrogen vehicles may be an option for larger vehicles which have not yet been widely electrified, such as long distance lorries. While electric vehicle technology

3078-563: Is pumped-storage hydroelectricity , which requires locations with large differences in height and access to water. Batteries , and specifically lithium-ion batteries , are also deployed widely. They contain cobalt , which is largely mined in Congo , a politically unstable region. More diverse geographical sourcing may ensure the stability of the supply-chain and their environmental impacts can be reduced by downcycling and recycling. Batteries typically store electricity for short periods; research

3192-410: Is a "sticky" form of energy, in that it tends to stay in the continent or island where it is produced. It is also multi-sourced; if one source suffers a shortage, electricity can be produced from other sources, including renewable sources . As a result, in the long term it is a relatively resilient means of energy transmission. In the short term, because electricity must be supplied at the same moment it

3306-682: Is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer , such as a spruce , pine or fir , or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas . The custom was developed in Central Europe , particularly Germany and Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia ), where Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples , wafers , tinsel , [and] sweetmeats ". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after

3420-486: Is a gift from the province of Nova Scotia , in thanks for rapid deployment of supplies and rescuers to the 1917 ammunition ship explosion that leveled the city of Halifax ; and in Newcastle upon Tyne , England, where the main civic Christmas tree is an annual gift from the city of Bergen , Norway, in thanks for the part played by soldiers from Newcastle in liberating Bergen from Nazi occupation. Norway also annually gifts

3534-626: Is associated with the Anglican Sunday Schools in Nassau , New Providence: "After prayers and a sermon from the Rev. R. Swann, the teachers and children of St. Agnes', accompanied by those of St. Mary's, marched to the Parsonage of Rev. J. H. Fisher, in front of which a large Christmas tree had been planted for their gratification. The delighted little ones formed a circle around it singing 'Come follow me to

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3648-501: Is consumed, it is somewhat unstable, compared to fuels that can be delivered and stored on-site. However, that can be mitigated by grid energy storage and distributed generation . Solar and wind are variable renewable energy sources that supply electricity intermittently depending on the weather and the time of day. Most electrical grids were constructed for non-intermittent energy sources such as coal-fired power plants. As larger amounts of solar and wind energy are integrated into

3762-645: Is expected to be the first step in the electrification of the chemical industry with an expected large-scale implementation by 2025. Some cities in the United States have started prohibiting gas hookups for new houses, with state laws passed and under consideration to either require electrification or prohibit local requirements. The UK government is experimenting with electrification for home heating to meet its climate goals. Ceramic and Induction heating for cooktops as well as industrial applications (for instance steam crackers) are examples of technologies that can be used to transition away from natural gas. Electricity

3876-659: Is not much celebrated", whereas in Pennsylvania and New York it is. When Edward H. Johnson was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company , a predecessor of Con Edison , he created the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree at his home in New York City in 1882. Johnson became the "Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights". The lyrics sung in the United States to the German tune O Tannenbaum begin "O Christmas tree...", giving rise to

3990-552: Is ongoing into technology with sufficient capacity to last through seasons. Pumped hydro storage and power-to-gas with capacity for multi-month usage has been implemented in some locations. As of 2018, thermal energy storage is typically not as convenient as burning fossil fuels . High upfront costs form a barrier for implementation. Seasonal thermal energy storage requires large capacity; it has been implemented in some high-latitude regions for household heat. The earliest commercial uses of electricity were electroplating and

4104-409: Is produced even during poor weather; during optimal weather energy generation may have to be curtailed . The final mismatch may be covered by using dispatchable energy sources such as hydropower, bioenergy, or natural gas. Energy storage helps overcome barriers for intermittent renewable energy, and is therefore an important aspect of a sustainable energy system. The most commonly used storage method

4218-472: Is relatively mature in road transport, electric shipping and aviation are still early in their development, hence sustainable liquid fuels may have a larger role to play in these sectors. A large fraction of the world population cannot afford sufficient cooling for their homes. In addition to air conditioning , which requires electrification and additional power demand, passive building design and urban planning will be needed to ensure cooling needs are met in

4332-509: Is unlucky to remove Christmas decorations, such as the Christmas tree, before Twelfth Night and, if they are not taken down on that day, it is appropriate to do so on Candlemas , the latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some denominations . The Christmas tree is sometimes compared with the " Yule -tree", especially in discussions of its folkloric origins. Modern Christmas trees originated in Central Europe and

4446-578: The Baltic states , particularly Estonia , Germany and Livonia (now Latvia ) during the Renaissance in early modern Europe. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther , who is said to have first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree. The Christmas tree was first recorded to be used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that

4560-528: The Bohemian Xmas Tree. It is made from Caroline's description of those she saw in Germany". In 1847, Prince Albert wrote: "I must now seek in the children an echo of what Ernest [his brother] and I were in the old time, of what we felt and thought; and their delight in the Christmas trees is not less than ours used to be". A boost to the trend was given in 1848 when The Illustrated London News , in

4674-509: The Congress of Vienna , and the custom spread across Austria in the following years. In France , the first Christmas tree was introduced in 1840 by the duchesse d'Orléans . In Denmark, a newspaper company claims that the first attested Christmas tree was lit in 1808 by Countess Wilhemine of Holsteinborg. It was the aging countess who told the story of the first Danish Christmas tree to Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1865. He had published

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4788-596: The Eucharist and redemption) was used as a setting for the play. Like the Christmas crib , the Paradise tree was later placed in homes. The apples were replaced by round objects such as shiny red baubles . Fir trees decorated with apples served as the central prop for the paradise play, a kind of folk religious drama often performed on December 24. These props were called paradise trees, and some researchers believe they were

4902-501: The Faraday disk , a type of homopolar generator , using a copper disc rotating between the poles of a horseshoe magnet . Faraday's first electromagnetic generator produced a small DC voltage. Around 1832, Hippolyte Pixii improved the magneto by using a wire wound horseshoe, with the extra coils of conductor generating more current, but it was AC. André-Marie Ampère suggested a means of converting current from Pixii's magneto to DC using

5016-616: The George Mehl Family Foothills Park in northeast Tucson. The Tucson Girls Chorus was originally geared to girls in grades 2 through 8, but by 2003 had broadened its membership to encompass girls ages 6 to 18. Girls are divided into the following choirs: An alumni choir was formed in 2013. In 2013–2014, the organization inaugurated four satellite choirs to service girls in low-income communities. These are located in Downtown Tucson, Sahuarita , Green Valley , and on

5130-669: The New Year holiday. It became a fully secular icon of the New Year holiday: for example, the crowning star was regarded not as a symbol of the Bethlehem Star , but as the Red star . Decorations, such as figurines of airplanes, bicycles, space rockets, cosmonauts , and characters of Russian fairy tales, were produced. This tradition persists after the fall of the USSR, with the New Year holiday outweighing

5244-530: The Pascua Yaqui Reservation . Called Engagement Choirs, they offer lower tuition rates and the opportunity for rehearsals closer to home. The Engagement Choirs perform with the other ensembles at the chorus' main local concerts. In 2017, the chorus opened a co-educational satellite choir for children with special needs . Called the Tutti Choir, it is led by a board-certified music therapist who engages

5358-408: The telegraph . In the years 1831–1832, Michael Faraday discovered the operating principle of electromagnetic generators. The principle, later called Faraday's law , is based on an electromotive force generated in an electrical conductor that is subjected to a varying magnetic flux as, for example, a wire moving through a magnetic field. Faraday built the first electromagnetic generator, called

5472-487: The "rapid growth of a new industry" as the growing of Christmas trees within Britain became commercially viable due to the size of demand. By 2013, the number of trees grown in Britain for the Christmas market was approximately eight million and their display in homes, shops and public spaces a normal part of the Christmas season. Georgians have their own traditional Christmas tree called Chichilaki , made from dried up hazelnut or walnut branches that are shaped to form

5586-515: The 1850s, many of these problems were solved by the arc lamp invented by William Petrie and William Staite. The lamp used a magneto-electric generator and had a self-regulating mechanism to control the gap between the two carbon rods. Their light was used to light up the National Gallery in London and was a great novelty at the time. These arc lamps and designs similar to it, powered by large magnetos, were first installed on English lighthouses in

5700-555: The 18th and 19th centuries. In the present-day, the churches and homes of Protestants and Catholics feature both Christmas cribs and Christmas trees. In Poland , there is a folk tradition dating back to an old Slavic pre-Christian custom of suspending a branch of fir , spruce , or pine from the ceiling rafters , called podłaźniczka , during the time of the Koliada winter festival. The branches were decorated with apples, nuts, acorns, and stars made of straw. In more recent times,

5814-786: The 1965 TV special, based on the appearance of Charlie Brown 's Christmas tree. Since the early 20th century, it has become common in many cities, towns, and department stores to put up public Christmas trees outdoors, such as the Macy's Great Tree in Atlanta (since 1948), the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City, and the large Christmas tree at Victoria Square in Adelaide . The use of fire retardant allows many indoor public areas to place real trees and be compliant with code. Licensed applicants of fire retardant solution spray

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5928-431: The 1970s and 1980s—from 49% of the world's population in 1970 to 76% in 1990. By the early 2010s, 81–83% of the world's population had access to electricity. Clean energy is mostly generated in the form of electricity, such as renewable energy or nuclear power . Switching to these energy sources requires that end uses, such as transport and heating, be electrified for the world's energy systems to be sustainable. In

6042-418: The 19th century. The German-born Queen Charlotte introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children in 1800. The custom did not at first spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria , as a child, was familiar with it and a tree was placed in her room every Christmas. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote: After dinner   [...] we then went into

6156-679: The Advanced Choir performing across the United States and also internationally, having visited France, Italy, Finland, Norway, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and China. The chorus also engages in fund-raising and community service. In January 2011, girls gathered to sing at a memorial to victims of the Tucson shooting . The Tucson Girls Chorus is a member of the Arizona Choral Arts Association. It maintains its headquarters in

6270-648: The Catholic majority rejected this custom because they considered it a typical Protestant tradition. However, this tradition was almost unknown to the rural population until World War I , after which the decorating of trees became common. The first decorated Christmas market was organized in Ljubljana in 1859. After World War II , during the Yugoslavia period, spruce trees set in the public places (towns, squares, and markets) were, for political reasons, replaced with fir trees,

6384-539: The Christmas (7 January) for a wide majority of Russian people. The Peanuts TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) was influential on the pop culture surrounding the Christmas tree. Aluminum Christmas trees were popular during the early 1960s in the US. They were satirized in the TV special and came to be seen as symbolizing the commercialization of Christmas. The term "Charlie Brown Christmas tree," describing any poor-looking or malformed little tree, also derives from

6498-509: The Christmas eve, you will look for a large Branch of green laurel, and you shall reap many red oranges, and place them on the branches that come of the laurel, specifically as you have seen, and in every orange you shall put a candle, and hang the Branch by a rope in the pole, which shall be by the candle of the high altar." Other sources have offered a connection between the symbolism of the first documented Christmas trees in Germany around 1600 and

6612-524: The Christmas tree was largely regarded as a Protestant custom. As a result, it remained confined to the upper Rhineland for a relatively long period of time. The custom did eventually gain wider acceptance beginning around 1815 by way of Prussian officials who emigrated there following the Congress of Vienna . In the 19th century, the Christmas tree was taken to be an expression of German culture and of Gemütlichkeit , especially among emigrants overseas. A decisive factor in winning general popularity

6726-533: The Christmas tree.'" The gifts decorated the trees as ornaments and the children were given tickets with numbers that matched the gifts. This appears to be the typical way of decorating the trees in 1860s Bahamas. In the Christmas of 1864, there was a Christmas tree put up in the Ladies Saloon in the Royal Victoria Hotel for the respectable children of the neighbourhood. The tree was ornamented with gifts for

6840-437: The U.S. and Canada the use of heat pumps (HP) is economic if powered with solar photovoltaic (PV) devices to offset propane heating in rural areas and natural gas heating in cities. A 2023 study investigated: (1) a residential natural gas-based heating system and grid electricity, (2) a residential natural gas-based heating system with PV to serve the electric load, (3) a residential HP system with grid electricity, and (4)

6954-471: The U.S. from 1870 to 1880 each man-hour was provided with .55 hp. In 1950 each man-hour was provided with 5 hp, or a 2.8% annual increase, declining to 1.5% from 1930 to 1950. The period of electrification of factories and households from 1900 to 1940, was one of high productivity and economic growth. Most studies of electrification and electric grids focused on industrial core countries in Europe and

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7068-514: The UK, Thomson-Houston Electric Company and Westinghouse in the US and Siemens in Germany . By 1890 there were 1000 central stations in operation. The 1902 census listed 3,620 central stations. By 1925 half of power was provided by central stations. One of the biggest problems facing the early power companies was the hourly variable demand. When lighting was practically the only use of electricity, demand

7182-496: The United States. Elsewhere, wired electricity was often carried on and through the circuits of colonial rule. Some historians and sociologists considered the interplay of colonial politics and the development of electric grids: in India, Rao showed that linguistics-based regional politics—not techno-geographical considerations—led to the creation of two separate grids; in colonial Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), Chikowero showed that electrification

7296-457: The adoption of heat pumps by also locking in both electricity and heating cost growth. The study concludes: "The real internal rate of return for such prosumer technologies is 20x greater than a long-term certificate of deposit , which demonstrates the additional value PV and HP technologies offer prosumers over comparably secure investment vehicles while making substantive reductions in carbon emissions." This approach can be improved by integrating

7410-584: The advent of electrification . Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments , such as garlands , baubles , tinsel , and candy canes . An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem , respectively, from the Nativity . Edible items such as gingerbread , chocolate , and other sweets are also popular and are tied to or hung from

7524-608: The apprentices and children. In Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia ), in 1441, 1442, 1510, and 1514, the Brotherhood of Blackheads erected a tree for the holidays in their guild houses in Reval (now Tallinn) and Riga . On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays, the tree was taken to the Town Hall Square , where the members of the brotherhood danced around it. A Bremen guild chronicle of 1570 reports that

7638-532: The backyard, or from the fences, modestly decorated with fruits or not decorated at all. German brewer Peter Luelsdorf brought the first Christmas tree of the current tradition to Slovenia in 1845. He set it up in his small brewery inn in Ljubljana , the Slovenian capital. German officials, craftsmen and merchants quickly spread the tradition among the bourgeois population. The trees were typically decorated with walnuts , golden apples, carobs , and candles. At first,

7752-461: The battery to power electromagnets. This type of dynamo was made by several people in 1866. The first practical generator, the Gramme machine , was made by Z.T. Gramme, who sold many of these machines in the 1870s. British engineer R.E.B. Crompton improved the generator to allow better air cooling and made other mechanical improvements. Compound winding, which gave more stable voltage with load, improved

7866-628: The children in "sensory-enriched music theory and vocal classes". The Tutti Choir is open to girls and boys in grades 2 through 8 and is the first public choir in the city servicing children with physical and learning disabilities. In 2017, the Tucson Girls Chorus received the Copper Cactus Award from the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce. The Tucson Girls Chorus has produced these CDs: Christmas tree A Christmas tree

7980-399: The children of the much-bombarded town of Lille in northern France. In some cases, the trees represent special commemorative gifts, such as in Trafalgar Square in London , where the City of Oslo , Norway , presents a tree to the people of London as a token of appreciation for the British support of Norwegian resistance during World War II ; in Boston , United States, where the tree

8094-428: The children who formed a circle about it and sung the song "Oats and Beans". The gifts were later given to the children in the name of Santa Claus . The tradition was introduced to North America in the winter of 1781 by Hessian soldiers stationed in the Province of Québec (1763–1791) to garrison the colony against American attack . General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel , held

8208-446: The conclusion of the extended Christmas-Epiphany season (Epiphanytide). According to the first tradition, those who fail to remember to remove their Christmas decorations on Epiphany Eve must leave them untouched until Candlemas, the second opportunity to remove them; failure to observe this custom is considered inauspicious. Electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts,

8322-422: The date 1576. Modern Christmas trees have been related to the " tree of paradise " of medieval mystery plays that were given on 24 December, the commemoration and name day of Adam and Eve in various countries. In such plays, a tree decorated with apples (representing fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and thus to the original sin that Christ took away) and round white wafers (to represent

8436-461: The decorations also included colored paper cutouts ( wycinanki ), wafers , cookies , and Christmas baubles . According to old pagan beliefs, the branch's powers were linked to good harvest and prosperity. The custom was practiced by the peasants until the early 20th century, particularly in the regions of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia . Most often the branches were hung above the wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve . Beginning in

8550-463: The drawing room near the dining room   [...] There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees   [...] In the year following Victoria's marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert , in 1841, the custom became even more widespread as wealthier middle-class families followed the fashion. In 1842,

8664-523: The electric demand curve by eliminating the extreme summer peak electric supply requirements. However, heat pumps and resistive heating alone will not be sufficient for the electrification of industrial heat. This because in several processes higher temperatures are required which cannot be achieved with these types of equipment. For example, for the production of ethylene via steam cracking temperatures as high as 900 °C are required. Hence, drastically new processes are required. Nevertheless, power-to-heat

8778-401: The engraving into an American scene. The republished Godey's image became the first widely circulated picture of a decorated evergreen Christmas tree in America. Art historian Karal Ann Marling called Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, shorn of their royal trappings, "the first influential American Christmas tree". Folk-culture historian Alfred Lewis Shoemaker states, "In all of America there

8892-620: The first day of the Advent season. Traditionally, however, Christmas trees were not brought in and decorated until the evening of Christmas Eve (24 December), the end of the Advent season and the start of the twelve days of Christmastide . It is customary for Christians in many localities to remove their Christmas decorations on the last day of the twelve days of Christmastide that falls on 5 January— Epiphany Eve (Twelfth Night), although those in other Christian countries remove them on Candlemas ,

9006-690: The first electrical engineering firms in the world. Various forms of incandescent light bulbs had numerous inventors; however, the most successful early bulbs were those that used a carbon filament sealed in a high vacuum. These were invented by Joseph Swan in 1878 in Britain and by Thomas Edison in 1879 in the US. Edison’s lamp was more successful than Swan’s because Edison used a thinner filament, giving it higher resistance and thus conducting much less current. Edison began commercial production of carbon filament bulbs in 1880. Swan's light began commercial production in 1881. Swan's house, in Low Fell , Gateshead,

9120-496: The first international tour was scheduled in 1999 in the United Kingdom . A choral summer camp opened in 1995. Membership in the chorus reached a high of 263 girls in five choirs by the time of Kersey's retirement in 2005. However, shortly after her departure, the organization went into decline, with staff members and board members leaving the project and membership falling to a low of 60 girls. New artistic director Marcela Molina,

9234-636: The forerunners of the Christmas tree. At the end of the Middle Ages, an early predecessor appears referred in the 15th century Regiment of the Cistercian Alcobaça Monastery in Portugal . The Regiment of the local high- Sacristans of the Cistercian Order refers to what may be considered the oldest references to the Christmas tree: "Note on how to put the Christmas branch, scilicet : On

9348-403: The grid, changes have to be made to the energy system to ensure that the supply of electricity is matched to demand. In 2019, these sources generated 8.5% of worldwide electricity, a share that has grown rapidly. There are various ways to make the electricity system more flexible. In many places, wind and solar production are complementary on a daily and a season scale: There is more wind during

9462-511: The house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmas time." It is commonly believed that ancient Romans used to decorate their houses with evergreen trees to celebrate Saturnalia , although there are no historical records of that. In the poem Epithalamium by Catullus , he tells of the gods decorating the home of Peleus with trees, including laurel and cypress. Later Libanius , Tertullian , and Chrysostom speak of

9576-446: The introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development , electrification refers to the build-out of the electricity generation and electric power distribution systems. In the context of sustainable energy , electrification refers to the build-out of super grids with energy storage to accommodate the energy transition to renewable energy and

9690-509: The load factor around the world was greater than 50%, mainly due to motor load. Before widespread power distribution from central stations, many factories, large hotels, apartment and office buildings had their own power generation. Often this was economically attractive because the exhaust steam could be used for building and industrial process heat, which today is known as cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP). Most self-generated power became uneconomical as power prices fell. As late as

9804-462: The load factor. The way this was eventually accomplished was through motor load. Motors are used more during daytime and many run continuously. Electric street railways were ideal for load balancing. Many electric railways generated their own power and also sold power and operated distribution systems. The load factor adjusted upward by the turn of the 20th century—at Pearl Street the load factor increased from 19.3% in 1884 to 29.4% in 1908. By 1929,

9918-533: The mid 1850s, but the technology suffered power limitations. The first successful arc lamp (the Yablochkov candle ) was developed by Russian engineer Pavel Yablochkov using the Gramme generator . Its advantage lay in the fact that it did not require the use of a mechanical regulator like its predecessors. It was first exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1878 and was heavily promoted by Gramme. The arc light

10032-413: The mid-19th century, the tradition over time was almost completely replaced by the later German practice of decorating a standing Christmas tree. In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts as far as Russia. Introduced by Fanny von Arnstein and popularized by Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg , the Christmas tree reached Vienna in 1814, during

10146-700: The mistaken idea that the German word Tannenbaum (fir tree) means "Christmas tree", the German word for which is instead Weihnachtsbaum . Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union , the Christmas tree—along with the entire celebration of the Christian holiday—was banned in the country after the October Revolution . However, the government then introduced a New-year spruce ( Russian : Новогодняя ёлка , romanized :  Novogodnyaya yolka ) in 1935 for

10260-530: The night and in winter, when solar energy production is low. Linking distant geographical regions through long-distance transmission lines allows for further cancelling out of variability. Energy demand can be shifted in time through energy demand management and the use of smart grids , matching the times when variable energy production is highest. With storage, energy produced in excess can be released when needed. Building additional capacity for wind and solar generation can help to ensure that enough electricity

10374-434: The operating characteristics of generators. The improvements in electrical generation technology in the 19th century increased its efficiency and reliability greatly. The first magnetos only converted a few percent of mechanical energy to electricity. By the end of the 19th century the highest efficiencies were over 90%. Sir Humphry Davy invented the carbon arc lamp in 1802 upon discovering that electricity could produce

10488-498: The practice at about that time. An 1853 article on Christmas customs in Pennsylvania defines them as mostly "German in origin", including the Christmas tree, which is "planted in a flower pot filled with earth, and its branches are covered with presents, chiefly of confectionary, for the younger members of the family." The article distinguishes between customs in different states, however, claiming that in New England generally "Christmas

10602-412: The rate charged by the gas company, so the town council decided to use electricity. The system lit up arc lamps on the main streets and incandescent lamps on a few side streets with hydroelectric power. By 1882 between 8 and 10 households were connected, with a total of 57 lights. The system was not a commercial success, and the town reverted to gas. The first large scale central distribution supply plant

10716-625: The story of a German maid decorating her mistress' tree. Also, a woodcut of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, initially published in The Illustrated London News in December 1848, was copied in the United States at Christmas 1850, in Godey's Lady's Book . Godey's copied it exactly, except for the removal of the Queen's tiara and Prince Albert's moustache, to remake

10830-795: The switch of end-uses to electricity. The electrification of particular sectors of the economy, particularly out of context, is called by modified terms such as factory electrification , household electrification , rural electrification and railway electrification . In the context of sustainable energy , terms such as transport electrification (referring to electric vehicles ) or heating electrification (referring to heat pumps ) are used. It may also apply to changing industrial processes such as smelting, melting, separating or refining from coal or coke heating, or to chemical processes to some type of electric process such as electric arc furnace , electric induction or resistance heating, or electrolysis or electrolytic separating. Electrification

10944-408: The tapers on a Christmas tree. They had not yet spread down the social scale though, as a report from Berlin in 1858 contrasts the situation there where "Every family has its own" with that of Britain, where Christmas trees were still the preserve of the wealthy or the "romantic". Their use at public entertainments, charity bazaars and in hospitals made them increasingly familiar however, and in 1906

11058-664: The tree's branches with ribbons. The Christmas tree has been historically regarded as a custom of the Lutheran Churches and only in 1982 did the Catholic Church erect the Vatican Christmas Tree . In the Western Christian tradition, Christmas trees are variously erected on days such as the first day of Advent , or even as late as Christmas Eve , depending on the country; customs of the same faith hold that it

11172-659: The tree, tag the tree, and provide a certificate for inspection. The United States' National Christmas Tree has been lit each year since 1923 on the South Lawn of the White House , becoming part of what evolved into a major holiday event at the White House. President Jimmy Carter lit only the crowning star atop the tree in 1979 in honor of the Americans being held hostage in Iran . This

11286-525: The trees of pre-Christian traditions, though this claim has been disputed. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica , "The use of evergreen trees , wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians , Chinese , and Hebrews . Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating

11400-944: The use of evergreen trees to adorn Christian houses. The Vikings and Saxons worshiped trees. The story of Saint Boniface cutting down Donar's Oak illustrates the pagan practices in 8th century among the Germans. A later folk version of the story adds the detail that an evergreen tree grew in place of the felled oak, telling them about how its triangular shape reminds humanity of the Trinity and how it points to heaven. Customs of erecting decorated trees in winter time can be traced to Christmas celebrations in Renaissance-era guilds in Northern Germany and Livonia . The first evidence of decorated trees associated with Christmas Day are trees in guildhalls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by

11514-612: The young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame". After the Protestant Reformation , such trees are seen in the houses of upper-class Protestant families as a counterpart to the Catholic Christmas cribs . This transition from the guild hall to bourgeois family homes in the Protestant parts of Germany ultimately gives rise to the modern tradition as it developed in

11628-483: Was called "the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th Century" by the National Academy of Engineering , and it continues in both rich and poor countries. Electric lighting is highly desirable. The light is much brighter than oil or gas lamps, and there is no soot. Although early electricity was very expensive compared to today, it was far cheaper and more convenient than oil or gas lighting. Electric lighting

11742-532: Was discontinued on the death of the paper's founder in the late 1980s. In some cities, a charity event called the Festival of Trees is organized, in which multiple trees are decorated and displayed. The giving of Christmas trees has also often been associated with the end of hostilities. After the signing of the Armistice in 1918, the city of Manchester , England, sent a tree, and £500 to buy chocolate and cakes, for

11856-422: Was high during the first hours before the workday and the evening hours when demand peaked. As a consequence, most early electric companies did not provide daytime service, with two-thirds providing no daytime service in 1897. The ratio of the average load to the peak load of a central station is called the load factor. For electric companies to increase profitability and lower rates, it was necessary to increase

11970-550: Was installed along the half mile length of Avenue de l'Opéra , Place du Theatre Francais and around the Place de l'Opéra in 1878. R. E. B. Crompton developed a more sophisticated design in 1878 which gave a much brighter and steadier light than the Yablochkov candle. In 1878, he formed Crompton & Co. and began to manufacture, sell and install the Crompton lamp. His concern was one of

12084-485: Was more efficient than small steam engines and because line shafts and belts had high friction losses. Electric motors were more efficient than human or animal power. The conversion efficiency for animal feed to work is between 4 and 5% compared to over 30% for electricity generated using coal. Electrification and economic growth are highly correlated. In economics, the efficiency of electrical generation has been shown to correlate with technological progress . In

12198-548: Was no more important medium in spreading the Christmas tree in the decade 1850–60 than Godey's Lady's Book ". The image was reprinted in 1860, and by the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become even more common in America. President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline put up the first White House Christmas tree in 1889. Several cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to that country's first Christmas tree. Windsor Locks, Connecticut , claims that

12312-463: Was opened at Holborn Viaduct in London in 1882. Equipped with 1000 incandescent lightbulbs that replaced the older gas lighting, the station lit up Holborn Circus including the offices of the General Post Office and the famous City Temple church . The supply was a direct current at 110 V; due to power loss in the copper wires, this amounted to 100 V for the customer. Within weeks,

12426-605: Was racially based and served the white settler community while excluding Africans; and in Mandate Palestine, Shamir claimed that British electric concessions to a Zionist-owned company deepened the economic disparities between Arabs and Jews. While electrification of cities and homes has existed since the late 19th century, about 840 million people (mostly in Africa) had no access to grid electricity in 2017, down from 1.2 billion in 2010. Vast gains in electrification were seen in

12540-529: Was repeated in 1980, except the tree was fully lit for 417 seconds, one second for each day the hostages had been in captivity. During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of the National Enquirer in Lantana, Florida . This tradition grew into one of the most spectacular and celebrated events in the history of southern Florida, but

12654-400: Was so much safer than oil or gas that some companies were able to pay for the electricity with the insurance savings. In 1851, Charles Babbage stated: One of the inventions most important to a class of highly skilled workers (engineers) would be a small motive power - ranging perhaps from the force of from half a man to that of two horses, which might commence as well as cease its action at

12768-479: Was the German army's decision to place Christmas trees in its barracks and military hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War . Only at the start of the 20th century did Christmas trees appear inside churches, this time in a new brightly lit form. Early Slovenian custom, dating back to around the 17th century, was to suspend the tree either upright or upside-down above the well, a corner of the dinner table, in

12882-494: Was the world's first to have working light bulbs installed. The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle , was the first public room lit by electric light, and the Savoy Theatre was the first public building in the world lit entirely by electricity. The first central station providing public power is believed to be one at Godalming , Surrey, UK, in autumn 1881. The system was proposed after the town failed to reach an agreement on

12996-440: Was to feed a carbon electrode by gravity and maintain the gap with a pair of electromagnets, one of which retracted the upper carbon after the arc was started and the second controlled a brake on the gravity feed. Arc lamps of the time had very intense light output – in the range of 4,000 candlepower (candelas) – and released a lot of heat, and they were a fire hazard, all of which made them inappropriate for lighting homes. In

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