The Reason for Christmas Lights
Who doesn’t feel the joyfulness and excitement at the time of the Christmas Holidays? It is a time of remembering the Hope that came into the world some two thousand years ago. It is a time of sharing and caring, of exchanging presents, of brightness, light and hope.
One of the most important decorations of the Christmas season is that of Christmas lights. We don’t usually give it much thought, but the brightness and beauty of those Christmas lights we put up every year remind us of the Light Who came into the world to show us the way, to light our path. I can’t think of any more symbolic decoration of the season than that of Christmas lights and candles.
The tradition of the Christmas tree, as we know it 
today, was begun in 16th century Germany, when devout Christians brought trees into their homes. Martin Luther was believed to have been the first to decorate the tree with lighted candles, inspired as he was by a night vision of starlight glittering among evergreen trees. The Christmas tree did not find a place in the tradition of Americans until the mid 1800s, and then it was decorated with homemade ornaments and strings of popcorn. It was the advent of electricity that made Christmas lights on trees popular.
As time has progressed, Christmas lights have come to decorate not only our Christmas trees but also many other things. Christmas lights can be found on the mantels of fireplaces, around doorways and windows, and outside the home as well. People decorate the trees, pines and other varieties, in their yards. Icicle lights hang from the gutters of houses. Lawn decorations, from lighted Nativity displays to lighted, nodding reindeer, and most everything in between, can be seen around the neighborhood. And of course there is the lighted, inflatable Santa that finds his place on the lawn.
But this Christmas, when you see the glittering lights on the trees, vintage bubbling candles, mini leds, blinking lights, tree topping stars, take a moment to pause.
When you see the outdoor lights in the neighborhood reflecting off a new fallen snow, take a moment to pause. And as you pause, let the Christmas lights in all their brilliance bring to mind the real reason they exist: to remind us that the Light of the World has visited us.