When Edward Johnson created and lit up the first strand of red and blue Christmas lights in 1882, he had no idea where his simple idea would lead. Johnson used a generator to power the eighty or so length of lights, and the light display lit up his parlor window for passersby to enjoy.
Prior to his ingenious idea, Christmas trees and Christmas celebrations were powered by candles. For Christians, the candles represented Jesus being the Light of the world. Adhered to tree limbs with wax or pins, candles proved a fire hazard and Johnson’s invention of ‘electric holiday lights’ was much safer, and the idea begin to spread. Prior to candles, Norsemen celebrated the midwinter with songs and, of course, a log burning brightly in the hearth.
Johnson’s mere strand of lights sparked a movement and in 1903, the American Eveready Company took Christmas lights a step farther with the creation of pre-wired, socket-ready strings of lights to be used during the Christmas season. Twenty years later, blinking lights appeared on the market, followed by LED in the 1990’s and today’s computer- controlled lights that feature animation and music with the sky being the limit. America’s custom of illuminating the season with beautiful light displays has now spread across the world.
Christmas lights are now one of the star features of the Christmas season with Americans alone purchasing around 150 million light sets yearly, lighting over 80 million homes. Far surpassing the original display of only red and blue projections, Christmas lights are available in a variety of colors and can twinkle, flash and even fade. Each yuletide season, people everywhere unpack their Christmas decorations, including the many stands of lights, and set up displays. Not only do lights add to the festivity of Christmas trees, but they also shroud homes, line driveways, blink off and on Christmas shirts and other attire and fill open spaces with dazzling displays that leave the viewer in awe.
There are multiple Christmas light displays that are just a short trip away for locals to enjoy. Nearby neighbor, Natchitoches, is ranked as one of the top places to visit. It is deemed the “Christmas Capital of Louisiana” as the town is transformed each year into a Christmas wonderland. Over 300,000 Christmas lights reflect off the waters of Cane River with vibrant Christmas displays wooing visitors.
Candy Cane Lane is an eye appealing drivethrough Christmas light experience outside of the city limits of West Monroe. If offers over a mile of Christmas cheer and light displays that are sure to lift the spirit and capture the attention of young and old alike.
The Christmas lights of LaSalle Parish also beckon, with homes being arrayed in shimmering splendor. Christmasville (located on Highway 459 on the Aimwell Road) is a local treat with its impressive offer of festive Christmas displays and lights in a drive-through encounter that’s sure to please the entire family.
Christmas holiday lights are nostalgic, bringing back warm memories of past Christmas celebrations and creating new ones as the lights are draped around the trees, homes and businesses. Whether clear and shining or a burst of Christmas color, lights create a festive feel and evoke emotions of warmth, joy and a feeling of family and belonging. In a sense, the twinkling displays connect us as surely as each tiny bulb is joined by the cord it rests upon.
No doubt, Edward Johnson would stand in awe and amazement if he could see what his humble expression of the Christmas celebration has become. The lights of Christmas celebrations across the world welcome the season with splendor and joy, reminding us of a Savior who was and is the original Christmas Light that offers hope to all. “Merry Christmas” seems much merrier in the beams of color that light up the Christmas season.
