In the western world we all know the song, Deck the Halls with Bows of Holly.” It is a standard at the holiday time.
Well, increasingly it isn’t bows of holly that grace our homes. We plaster them with lights and lights and more lights.
Some of these lighting installations have become a sound and blinking light extravaganza like the one at Saks Fifth Avenue on Fifth Avenue across from Rockefeller Center. Don’t miss it.
Just drive up and down any city or suburban street and you’ll see house after house decked with strings of holiday luminance. Inside too. Other kinds of decorations can be part of the scene, but lights make a big statement. Shopping centers and businesses get into the act as well.
It’s a tradition that is as old as the holiday itself, going back to Pagan times when folks lit candles in the mid winter in hopes that the long days of daylight would return. Lighting candles or yule longs were symbols of home and celebration.
These traditions became incorporated into Christian traditions.
The Germans lit Christmas trees in the 1800s with candles. While being quite a hazard, lighting the tree became a very special time of the holiday.
The invention of electricity changed things. An executive at Edison’s company, Edward H. Johnson is credited with being the father of the electric Christmas tree. He added lights to his tree in 1882. They were actually invented by Thomas Edison. President Grover Cleveland followed suit at the White House in 1895.
Today one of the most dramatic trees is at Rockefeller Center in New York City. It is spectacular.
Today I’m afraid it is a way to outdo the neighbors with extravagant illumination. There’s even a reality show called The Great Christmas Light Fight show where people compete to be the best.
I love the lights. Most people do. Holiday lights are a way to pause and to reflect and to take a bit of a time out. Many times they bring back childhood memories of happy times. The putting up of decorations is followed by good things—family, presents, good food. It can be a very nostalgic time.
But it can work the other way. People who’ve had traumatic events around the holidays can sometimes experience the Holiday Blues. Lights and decor can evoke sadness.
But whatever the reason we festoon our homes and businesses with holiday lights and decor, I find them fun to photograph. It’s actually a bit challenging, but I’m working on it.
This year I am not only trying to master the F-Stop, shutter speed and exposure triangle to get the images I’m trying to produce, but I’m also working on creating abstracts out of the holiday festive fare. Sometimes this results in self portraits, putting myself in the middle of scene. Successful or not, I find it fun to do with both my iPhone and my Olympus.
But sometimes I just can’t resist capturing the funny stuff. I look for displays that make me smile.
Here are some other Light Shows to check out.
The trail of Lights in Arizona
Chandler Arizona, a gigantic tree is made out of tumbleweeds.
Ford Fietsa de Las Luminarias in San Antonio
Fifteen Outrageous Christmas Light Shows
Caroline Cooks Twinkle Lights Tour
If you particularly enjoy Holiday LIght shows around the country, will you please post in the comment section. Thank you and Happy Holidays.
