Chinese Christians Enslaved to make Christmas Lights - Christmas Lights From Hell
81Lights Made by Slaves
Many people of the 21st century create their own innovative Christmas traditions for a variety of reasons. They have left home and married, with kids of their own, and need something to call their nuclear family's own at the Holiday Season. Some do this in order to escape the chain of dysfunctional holiday behavior and commercialism, and this is a smart thing to do as well, with good motivation. Or --
Perhaps they have no family and are the last of their altogether, so they do something unique. Some go on vacation to tropical climates from Christmas to New Year's and have fun alone or with friends. They make new friends on Grand Cayman Island or in Iceland.Or, they volunteer in Holiday soup kitchens.
There are so many things that can be done during the period between Thanksgiving and January 6 in America, that there are plenty of choices. Commercial Christmas or Christian Christmas - celebrate one, both, or none. It would just be nice if the choosers of each the three options would refrain from criticizing the choosers of any of the others.
Like bad TV, if you don't like it, don't watch it.
Some people travel to Israel in December to see what it's all about. Amazingly, Jewish Temples and the Wailing Wall, The Holy Sepulchre (the supposed empty tomb of Jesus) and the Mosque of the Rock (where Abraham did not have to sacrifice his son Isaac) sit in the same vicinity -- Three major religions - Jewish, Christian, Muslim - one place. More interesting is the tradition that traces Judaism back to Abraham's son Isaac and the Muslim foundations back to Isaac's half brother Ishmael. Some Jews today are saying, "We were given the land, the Arab/Muslim countries were given the oil, and we must learn to get along." I think that beats nuclear catastrophe.
Yearly, extremists travel to the Mosque and try to build a tent on top of it in order to reconstruct the Hebrew Temple (originally a large tent) on the spot where the Mosque now stands in order to usher in the final stages of the End of Days. On New Year's Eve 1999, heavy security and police enforcement were necessary, because the extremists dedicated themselves to building the temple made from a tent. I marveled at the TV coverage of a small portion of that scenario on one of the Christian networks.The tent builders failed at the end of 1999 and they have failed every year since that time...
This yearly scene may seem amazing and even ludicrous, but it is interesting.
However, one of the biggest religious and Christmas Atrocities is that of the slavery of Chinese Christians in some parts of China (not the whole country, but some of it) and their enforced slave work of assembling strings of tiny Christmas lights by hand, without tools, for 14 hours a day. These lights are sold by the thousands in American stores, often for as low as $1.00 or $0.50 a box for a string of 35 lights at Big Lots.
In Sudan, when a Sudanese person declares themselves a Christian, their arms are often cut off by the government's soldiers. Our church has sent missionaries there for years to help fight this atrocity, but more help is needed. The film footage sent back to us is horrific.
Many people hate Christians that have operated in their faith wrongly, by browbeating and comdemning non-Christians, by having killed so many in the Crusades, by all manner of events. Is it not also wrong to take Christians that do not do these horrid things and cut their arms off or enslave them to make Christmas Lights?
War is hell, but holy war is worse. The perpetrators of religious atrocities are wrong.
American Made
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American Made Lights
This year and every year hereafter, if you purchase Christmas lights, why not purchase from America manufacturers, purchase vintage American Made lights, or go with another form of decoration entirely?
The only American Made Christmas lights I can find that are currently in production are available through a Florida company called The Lights Before Christmas at www.thelightbeforechristmas.com. Several Italian companies manufacture and export lights as well.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NO MORE MADE IN CHINA
One listing on the site above offers to search out American Made products, including green products. See www.USAEarthmart.com.
Read the TIMELINE OF AMERICAN CHRISTMAS LIGHTING at http://www.oldchristmaslights.com. Website underging overhaul in 2011.
American Made Gifts across the nation and from the state of Ohio.
Vintage Bubble Lights - Inexpensive
Thomas Edison Christmas Light Catalogue - 1890
Cheap Lights Cheapen Lives
The first Christmas tree lighted with small lights was reportedly lit in 1882 by an associate of Thomas Edison.
By 1966, the final large American manufacturer of Christmas lights went bankrupt - just 84 years later.
The few remaining manufacturers of Christmas lights in America in the 21st century are expensive in their products..
Lights produced in China are cheap, but those produced in the US and countries outside the USA besides China are generally more expensive or very expensive.
I will think about China and Sudan when I see lights at Christmas.
New Traditions
This year, I plan to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, attend an Orthodox candlelight celebration, enjoy 12th Night, and participate in some of the trappings of Mardi Gras that begin on 12th Night - I love to make the Masks - without purchasing lights or other goods that have resulted from the inhumane treatment of workers or the use of slaves.
That's a tradition I can live with.
I pray that holy wars and Christmas Atrocities be ended soon.
Merry Christmas to All!
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Bubble lights in the 1960s were my favorites.
Interesting article. I love those old bubble lights too. Thank you for the article.
Thanks for bringing the Chinese slavery connection to our attention, Patty. Sort of takes a lot of the shine out of the strings of lights we buy--without putting much thought into it--every year. And it also drives home an important point: "the reason for the season," for most American retailers, isn't the birth of Christ, or even good will toward men; it's the"bottom line." They'll make their bucks any way they can, even at the expense of human bondage. Sad. Sadder when most of us aren't aware of it, which is the case most often, I think. Thanks for helping to change that.
Bill Campbell
Wow, Patty, I had no idea. This is a reminder to be knowledgeable about the items you choose to buy.
Netters - Bubble lights are great and a good memory for me.
Stacie and Vicariously Yours - I almost did not do a Christmas Hub - I've done so many on traditions and cultures at Christmas - but I thought people should be made aware of this. I'm glad you read it. Thanks for reading.
Patty
I, too, had no idea. I'm guilty of buying "made in China" lights. From now on, I won't do that anymore. :( Thank you!
Good for you, KT pdx!
I know a couple of other people have already said this, but I honestly had absolutely no idea!! That explains how they can sometimes sell them so cheaply. Well, the price is low for us, very high for those who made them.
Holy war....shouldn't that be an oxymoron? I consider it an atrocity, myself. The two words should never go together. It breaks at least one commandment, if nothing else.
Dear Patty Inglish, MS;
Very thoughtful analysis, well researched. Great Patty Inglish
Mahendra Singh
Hi Shirley - Thanks for visiting with me here! I didn't want to dampen holiday spirits, but I did want to put out the word. We can celebrate without financing this horror.
msms - Thank you so much for your support!
I love to put those LED Lights for the reason that they consume less electricity and save some money for me and some power for my country. They are also cheaper and look great.
That is excellent, especially if they are not made in China.
Thank you for pointing this out. It brightens my holiday to know that I do not have to be a part to this ill treatment of other people. C.S.
Thank you CS! I think we can make a difference.
Personally I still prefer candles (specialy if made in Portugal) :D
Now seriously, I´m very concern about those atrocities and I would like to remember about the danger of short circuit by those low quality Chinese Christmas lights.
As a child we had real lights (like your bubble lights). Long after they stopped working, as they were individually blown and hand painted, we cut them off the string and used them,individually, as part of our traditional Xmas tree decorations for many years, until they broke or finally got lost amongst the bric-a-brac that was no longer suitable for the tree.
Interesting hub evoking long lost memories.
Patty, thanks for highlighting the attrocities which abound in the world. It is a tragedy that we cannot tolerate anothers right to practise religion. The worst is the enslavement of protesters to use in factories and the like for gain.
Man's intolerance towards one another, it is very suspect!
Unfortunatly, we in South Africa have become a major dumping ground for all these types of goods. From China as well as other major european countries who need to off load substandrd and even condemned goods.
They land here by container after container, at our docks, distributed by a network of unemployed, being both the locals as well as illegals, which stand at every street corner peddling these items with counterfete sunglasses, movie DVD's and sundry items of clothing.
This, as well as a myriad of other attrocities carried out, all in the great persuit of MONEY, MONEY.
Patti I think a whole hub on chinese (and other exploitive) labour practices and the markets that are being flooded with sub-standard goods from electrical appliances to motor vehicles
Maybe we should suggest that for next week hubmob topic!
Thanks for all the comments in support of thinking about this situation and the exploitation occuring around the world. A Hubmob attack on substandard good would be ideal if we could get enough participants - there are so many untold stories we need to hear.
Thanks for sharing all of your experiences, sixty, funride, Just_Rodney.
I like candles better, too, actually, and have made some.
Patty
Patty, thanks for telling me about this hub through facebook- it's a great read and an important subject.
Unfortunately, child slave labor is rampant in two out of the three largest countries (in terms of population) in the world- China and India. Please continue to push awareness of the topic by using the medium of hubs!
WeddingConsultant - Thanks for your input; I appreciate it very much. I was appalled that I'd not found out about these things sooner, and will continue to speak out about them.
Patty
I just HATE Chinese Products. I Purchased few Chinese Products and Got few as Gifts but they all made my life Miserable.
I hope you receive better gifts form now on, guidebaba!
"War is hell, but holy war is worse. The perpetrators of religious atrocities are wrong."
Across all religions and beliefs. I agree!
Amercian made all the way!
Crazy. Our culture is nutty sometimes.
Great hub Patty, a real eye opener, we should stop buying Chinese Products. I have a set of those beautiful Vintage Bubble Lights, there awesome!
Great hub!!! Thumbs up!!!
Thank you for this page, I'm 53 and have had one wonderful Christmas celebration since becoming an adult, and it was a celebration with no one I was related to! Christmas, for me, is the celebration of mankind's enslavement - the word family is for me a swear word - and after 22 years, my sentance is over for wanting to have kids! This year both my girls moved out! I celebrate on the 21st, and Iceland is a country that when given the choice of either becoming Christian or being destroyed, opted for becoming officially Christian, but privately remained what they were, and still pray to Thor. I'm looking at a trip to Iceland during the holiday season! Thanks!
Bob Ewing Level 3 Commenter 3 years ago
I love those vintage lights.