Thomas Edison first patented the incandescent light bulb in 1879. A year or two later, Edward H. Johnson created the first electric strand of lights and in the early 1920s, New Yorker Albert Sadacca began selling strings of electric Christmas lights.

Today, Christmas lights have advanced well beyond the incandescent to solid state with low-energy LEDs, which use about 10 percent of the electricity that incandescent bulbs do and can flash in synchrony with music thanks to programmable light controllers and software.

Not everyone likes back-beat with their Christmas display, though. It all depends on where you're from. So this week on Tasty Tech Eye Candy, we wanted to devote our slideshow to Christmas light displays from around the world. Take a spin around the globe to see how the holiday sparkles.

Above: Christmas lights on Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo, Calif., one of the most famous neighborhoods in the country for putting on a show during the holidays.