Christmas Lights

聖誕燈Lights have lit up Christmas trees for five centuries聖誕燈的歷史淵源 The history behind Christmas lights by Lisa Holl Chang

The first Christmas light was a star. The story of Jesus’ birth tells of a star that guided the Wise Men to his birthplace. Today, people use lights to celebrate that first Christmas.

Some believe that Martin Luther, a German priest, was the first to put lights on trees. About five centuries ago, he was admiring the stars. The outdoor scene of stars and evergreen trees inspired him to decorate his Christmas tree with candles. Soon, households across Germany were doing the same.

While beautiful, the candles tended to cause fires. In 1882 Edward Johnson, who worked for Thomas Edison, got an idea. He put a string of 80 small electric lights on his Christmas tree. The tree was a huge attraction, and electric lights became a trend among the rich. However, they didn't replace candles until the 1930s. By then, electricity was widespread and people could afford the lights.

Today, Christmas lights decorate more than just trees. The lights twinkle on homes, stores, churches and even light poles. The festive lights remind people of the season's meaning and joy.

Grammar
While beautiful, the candles tended to cause fires.
while-at the same time.
Please have a seat while I get you some coffee.
although-
Although they're beautiful, the candles tended to cause fires.
While the doctor thinks it's better to have the operation, Paul believes his body is strong enough to recover on its own.
While she may not like her schedule this semester, Susan does enjoy her classes very much.

Vocabulary
celebrate (v)-Even though Sam's birthday was on Thursday, we're going to celebrate it on Saturday.
household (n)-家庭或一家人,(adj)家用的
There are five people in our household, including my grandma, parents, sister and me.
*Each household in the community donated money to help renovate the playground.修建,重建,重整. 游乐场
a good household appliance.
tend (v)-倾向于,容易
Mary tends to make excuses when she has done something wrong.
*We tend to have cold winters and humid summers in this area.
twinkle (v)-闪耀,闪烁,Look at all the lovely stars twinkling in the night sky.
*The stars twinkled in the night sky.
*My daughters eyes twinkled with delight when I mentioned that I will take her out for pizza.

Chat room
the rich-(even left out the "people") it means rich people.
electric lights became a trend among the rich.
the rich-"the" rich to describe a group of people. the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely, the poor, the educated...
rich here is 集合形容词,要用单数动词.但集合名词则要用复数动词.
the rich have to pay more taxes.
dozen-a dozen of eggs "is" not enough.
A dozen "are" coming- a dozen of people are coming.