On New Year's Eve, 1879, Thomas Edison unveiled his newest invention: the electric light. Reporters came from all over the U.S. to see Edison's Menlo Park lab lit up with his incandescent bulbs.

The history of how these mass-produced novelty lights became a holiday fixture is a distinctly American Christmas tale.

Fronted by a luxurious mustache, this loyal lieutenant to Thomas Edison was the embodiment ... charging crowds to drum up excitement. When Edison patented the light bulb in 1880, its exact value ...