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In North America, German soldiers under British command, already by the late 18th century during the American Revolution, began to use Christmas trees in Quebec and perhaps in the Colonies themselves. The first Christmas tree in the United States may have been by a Hessian soldier imprisoned in Connecticut in 1777. By the early 19th century, Christmas trees began to become more common in the United States as more German immigrants migrated to the United States. With technology rapidly developing in the late 19th century as the Industrial Revolution developed, electricity became available in many places. This led to the idea of decorating trees with electric lights by Edward H. Johnson, a vice president in the Edison Electrical Light Company, where in 1882 he decorated his Christmas tree at home with electrical lights in New York City.<ref>For more on developments of Christmas in North America, see: Baines, D. (1997). <i>Christmas Traditions and Legends</i>. Bookpartners. </ref>
Initially, Christmas trees were decorated with apples or , sweetsand sometimes other ornaments. The round shapes of apples , in particular, were continued as glass and later plastic balls were used to decorate trees. In Germany, glass making industries began to specialize in colorful decorations that were applied to trees, which then spread in popularity in other regions. The origin of tree-toppers or decorations at the topof top of the tree likely originates from the Victorian period, when the Queen and her family decorated their tree with an angel and later traditions began to use stars.<ref>For more on Christmas tree decorations and their change, see: Brenner, R. (1985). <i>Christmas past: a collectors’ guide to its history and decorations</i>. West Chester, Pa: Schiffer Pub.</ref>
[[File:Victoria and Albert Christmas tree.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 2. Queen Victoria and her husband helped popularize Christmas in Britain and other countries.]]
