Christmas lights during the winter holidays are very popular all over the world. In North America, many families decorate their houses with Christmas lights. But how did this tradition start and became popular?
How the holiday lighting tradition started
Most cultures celebrate some kind of holiday during the middle of the winter, right around or after the winter solstice. Solstice is the day when the sun starts coming back and the days begin getting longer again. In Northern Europe people have historically celebrated Yule time or Yule season in December by burning candles and yule log. Jewish festival Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a new candle during each day of the 8-day festival. Lit Candles and burning fire represents knowledge, warmth and a way to cheer up during the darkest times of the year.
The origin of Christmas lights goes back to the German tradition of hanging candles on evergreen trees. In Christianity candles were lit to “signify the light of Jesus” or to serve as a symbol of a star that was seen by the three wise men.
In the 1840s and 1850s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert brought the Christmas tree tradition to Britain. Prince Albert was German and Victoria had a German mother, so they grew up with a custom of decorating the Christmas tree with candles, fruits and hand made decorations. Before that British people would bring home a branch of a tree or a mistletoe, but there wasn't that traditional Christmas scene that we know now. Later Christmas trees and lights spread throughout the rest of the world due to the high influence of the British in the world.
But perhaps another reason why holiday lights are so popular is that it actually is in tune with many winter holidays. Electrical lights represent candle lighting and gathering around the fire. Candles attached to a tree isn’t the best idea and can cause fires, so when the electrical lights became common, they replaced the candles and the Christmas lighting became easier and more common.
It happened after the invention of electricity, when electric Christmas lights slowly became popular as a holiday decoration choice with most families. Because of the convenience and safety of electricity, Installing Christmas lights is not only used on Christmas trees, but to decorate houses and for commercial outdoor decorations.
At first electrical Christmas lights were only available to a high class society in the United States because of the high price and amount of labor involved. But as lights became more affordable, the general public were able to afford it. Modern Xmas lights installers use only the highest quality products and put a large emphasis on the energy efficient LED lights.
How the traditions promote well being
Holiday lighting is an exciting tradition. Lights create a happy feeling because they trigger dopamine release in the brain. For most people, the lights are associated with the positive childhood memories firing up the neurons responsible for feelings of joy, excitement and happiness. No wonder many different cultures around the world use lighting decorations during traditional celebrations.
Installation of Christmas lights takes a lot of time and effort because it involves climbing ladders and roofs and can be quite dangerous. Permanent lighting solutions are different in that sense because they are installed once and last up to 20 years. So there is no need to install and take down lights every year. Permanent lighting is also very versatile in terms of colors and patterns.
When the lights are turned off they are basically invisible. Lights are installed in the soffit of the roof and stay attached permanently. You can choose from a wide range of colors and color patterns to decorate your home for any holiday with just a press of a button. Lighting patterns are programmed and operated on the phone app. You can either choose from a library of patterns or create your own patterns such as colors of your favorite sports team for example. The brightness is adjusted.
Permanent lighting solution saves you money in the long run because your cost per year is much lower, but it requires the initial investment. Permanent lights also operate at high energy efficiency, so you also save on your power bill as well.
This has been the origin of Christmas lights and why winter holiday traditions are instrumental to our well-being these days.
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