When you think of Christmas, classic images of twinkling lights and cozy stockings come to mind. Yet the holiday is constantly evolving, and this year’s 10 twists Christmas showcase how innovators, history buffs, and even marine life are reshaping the season in surprising ways.
10 Twists Christmas: A Fresh Look at Holiday Traditions
10 Electric (Eel) Christmas Lights
In the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a rather electrifying spectacle takes place at the Tennessee Aquarium. Miguel Wattson, an electric eel, isn’t singing carols for his supper; instead, he’s generating the very power that makes the Christmas tree outside his tank sparkle. As he darts about searching for food, low‑voltage jolts travel from his body to a set of tiny bulbs, causing them to blink in a rhythmic fashion.
When Miguel becomes especially excited—whether he’s feasting or simply feeling frisky—the voltage spikes, and the lights burst into a brighter, longer‑lasting flash that rivals any commercial display. The eel’s natural bio‑electricity is thus transformed into a dazzling holiday showcase.
Behind the scenes, Kevin Liska of Tennessee Tech University’s iCube Center helped translate Miguel’s shocks into a playful “voice.” By writing custom code, Liska and his team turned each electrical pulse into sound bites that let the eel shout whimsical phrases like “SHAZAM!” and “ka‑BLAMEROO!”—a delightful blend of electrical engineering and creative communication.
With a similar setup, Miguel has even taken to Twitter, where his 41,000 followers enjoy a steady stream of pun‑filled sound‑effect tweets. The eel responds to comments, sharing jokes such as “r‑eel‑y cool” and proclaiming “I’m eel‑ated,” proving that even underwater creatures can get into the holiday spirit.
9 Edison Christmas Lights
An early advertisement for “Christmas Lighting,” courtesy of Edison Miniature Lamps, boasted that the lights were safe, clean, and odor‑free—promising “no danger, smoke or smell.” While customers could either rent or purchase these lamps, there was a catch: they could only be used in homes that already had electric lighting installed.
Thomas Edison himself invented these lamps, and the inaugural strand made its debut in 1882 on an indoor tree at the New York City residence of Edward Johnson, the vice‑president of the Edison Electric Company. That first display featured eighty tiny bulbs in red, white, and blue, illuminating the tree with a novel electric glow that set the stage for modern holiday lighting.
8 Metallic (and Plastic) Tinsel
Tinsel’s history stretches back to 1610, when German craftsmen first draped Christmas trees with slender silver strands. Those gleaming ribbons reflected the modest candlelight that illuminated the trees, evoking the star‑studded sky of the Nativity story.
Because silver tarnishes quickly, later centuries saw the material swapped for other lustrous metals. At the turn of the twentieth century, aluminum became popular, and subsequently lead foil entered the market—both offered a bright finish without the expense of silver.
Health concerns about lead exposure in 1972 prompted manufacturers and importers to cease production of lead‑based tinsel. Modern tinsel is now crafted from plastic film coated with a metallic finish or from Mylar, cut into thin, shimmering strips that capture the same festive sparkle without the hazards.
7 Rockefeller Christmas Tree Topper
When the 2018 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was ready for its grand debut, the crowning star required a monumental effort to fabricate. BorgDesign Inc., a company known for creating custom parts ranging from medical devices to radar systems, was tapped to engineer the star’s core.
The design collaboration involved Orion RED, architect Daniel Libeskind, and the renowned crystal maker Swarovski. While the creative vision came from these partners, BorgDesign handled the intricate engineering, delivering the star’s structural components after a seven‑month, 500‑to‑1,000‑hour development cycle.
The final piece measured an impressive nine feet, four inches tall, housing seventy LED‑filled modules and encrusted with three million Swarovski crystals. These crystals provide the iconic twinkle that crowns the tree, while a sophisticated lifting mechanism ensures the star can be hoisted safely into its lofty perch.
6 Inverted Christmas Tree
Upside‑down trees surged in popularity on Instagram in 2017, appearing in shopping malls and private homes across the United States. By mounting a tree on a modified stand or suspending its base from the ceiling, decorators flip the traditional orientation, letting ornaments dangle from inverted branches while gifts gather beneath the tree’s tip.
Although this modern trend feels fresh, the concept dates back to the Middle Ages, when inverted trees symbolized the Holy Trinity and the crucifixion of Christ, offering a deeper, historical resonance to the contemporary Instagram‑driven craze.
5 Head Ornament
Thanks to the rise of 3‑D printing, it’s now possible to turn a person’s head into a bespoke Christmas ornament. Imagine a miniature version of yourself, complete with a red stocking cap and a fluffy pom‑pom, hanging from a branch—facial hair and all, minus any gore.
Sony Xperia brought this quirky idea to life in its 2017 “Bauble Me” promotion. At pop‑up events across the United Kingdom, shoppers could have their faces scanned with an Xperia smartphone, printed into a tiny ornament, and taken home for free—turning ordinary holiday décor into a personalized keepsake.
4 La Befana
Since the eighth century, Italy has celebrated a witch‑like figure known as La Befana. According to legend, the Magi spent a night in her home while following the star to Bethlehem. After a warm welcome, the Wise Men invited her to join their journey, but she declined, claiming she needed to tidy her house.
Regretting her decision, La Befana later set out on her own, basket of gifts in hand, to follow the same celestial guide. She never reached the infant Jesus, but her determination cemented her role as a holiday gift‑giver.
Every Epiphany Eve (January 6), she roams from house to house, offering sweets to well‑behaved children and lumps of coal to the naughty. Her story mirrors, in many ways, the modern Santa narrative, adding a distinct Italian flavor to the season’s folklore.
3 Chimney Entrances
Why does Santa slide down chimneys on Christmas Eve? The answer traces back to Washington Irving, whose 1809 work “Knickerbocker’s History of New York” portrayed Saint Nicholas as a jolly figure who “drops” presents down chimney flues. Irving’s vivid description helped cement the chimney as Santa’s preferred entry point.
This imagery draws from medieval beliefs that witches entered homes through chimneys and windows, making the chimney a liminal portal between the earthly realm and the supernatural. Various folklore creatures—Scottish brownies, Irish bodachs, and Italy’s La Befana—also used chimneys to move unseen.
Irving’s portrayal, later amplified by Clement C. Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”), solidified the chimney’s place in the modern Santa mythos.
2 NORAD Tracks Santa Program
The story begins on Christmas Eve 1955, when a curious child mistakenly dialed the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center (CADCOC) in Colorado, seeking Santa’s whereabouts. Colonel Harry Shoup, who answered the call, reassured the youngster that the military would keep an eye on Santa’s journey.
By 1958, the fledgling tradition had evolved into the official NORAD Tracks Santa program. Every December, a massive volunteer network—including seventy government and non‑government contributors and over 1,500 volunteers—fields calls, emails, and online queries to keep children updated on Santa’s global trek.
In 2019 alone, the program logged 126,103 phone calls, answered 2,030 emails, and received 7,477 requests via OnStar to locate Saint Nick, underscoring the enduring popularity of this high‑tech holiday tradition.
1 Letter Adoption
The United States Postal Service processes hundreds of thousands of letters addressed to Santa each year. To respond, the USPS launched Operation Santa, now in its 107th year, spanning fifteen cities across the nation.
To protect children’s privacy, personal details—including last names, addresses, and other contact information—are redacted. Gifts are matched to recipients using a coded system. Volunteers adopt individual letters, purchase at least one requested item, package it, and mail it anonymously to the child, ensuring the magic of receiving a present from Santa lives on.
Letters are also posted on the USPS website, where registered volunteers can claim a letter, purchase the requested gifts, and ship them by December 20.
About The Author: Gary L. Pullman, author of the Western trilogy “An Adventure of the Old West,” lives near Area 51 in southern Nevada, a fact his friends say “explains a lot.”