As the harsh colds of winter greets Columbians once again, an arguably lethargic palate of colors accompany the climate change. It has become almost an American tradition to decorate one’s house and property, adorning it with glittering lights and figures.
Christmas lights merged into the culture of the holiday in the 18th century, in which upper class Germans used candles attached to Christmas trees to decorate the shrubs.
The stringed bulbs of Christmas lights that people commonly use to decorate trees today originated around 1950, which was around the time the tree at the Rockefeller Center in New York City began to use electric lights. A decade later lights decorated the roofs of buildings. This practice made its way around the world in the late 20th century, to countries such as Japan.source: www.nbcnewyork.com, www.holidayleds.com
More recently, entities use Christmas lights to construct structures and shapes for decoration. Several of these include the Christmas tree entirely made of lights in Dundas Square in Toronto and at the Place de la Republique in Limoges, France.
These pictures are examples of holiday lights near RBHS that personify the holiday spirit.
Photos by Amy Blevins and Renata Williams