Christmas Lights

Where did the idea of Christmas lights come from?  I have always enjoyed seeing Christmas lights that people display in their trees at Christmas.  Tiny, bright, white lights strung through trees are a treat for anyone.  Winter wonderland always comes to mind, but it never clicked with me just where it could have originated.  

       Back in November of 2001, my family and I went to the mountains with the astronomy club to view the Leonid meteor shower.  It began as a warm, clear night and perfect for viewing the heavens.  The Earth was to pass through the orbit path of the Temple-Tuttle comet.  The Comet, on its path, left a trail of ice and mineral particles floating through space.  As the evening began, we didn't focus our attention solely on the meteors because there were so few to be seen; instead, we focused our attention on the beauty that was surrounding us.  The darkness brought chilling temperatures and by early morning it had dropped below freezing.   Because of the location, high on the mountain, we were able to see the stars through a thinner atmosphere than most of the rest of the world.  The stars were clearer than I had ever seen them.  It was easy to find things in the sky just by pointing our scopes at glowing smudges, only to realize that they were really brilliant star clusters, galaxies, nebulas, and just beautiful things.  Places so far away, but they looked so close that we felt as if we were there.  Somewhere around 2:00 a.m., moisture fell on our scopes which rendered them useless.  That didn’t matter because the meteors were now hitting the Earth's atmosphere so often that no one could look at anything else anyway.  Approaching the peak of the shower, we all took different directions and called out "there's one!" and again, "there's one!"  There were so many people calling the sightings that the poor man clicking the counter could hardly keep up.  The peak hit between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m.; it was a record for everyone.  We counted to the best of our ability, at one ten minute period, a rate of approximately 2,000 meteors falling per hour.  After looking up all night, it was time for a break.  They were ready for another count, but I had to throw in the towel.  

      I decided to walk up the hill to see what was around us.  To my surprise, just over the hill was an overlook where an entire city was glimmering with its lights dim due to the early hour.  A light fog was hovering over the town as the sky, with its many stars, came down to meet the horizon.  With mountains to each side, it was a picture waiting to be painted, not to mention that the peak of the shower was upon us.  Meteors were gently falling like snow across the landscape.  Standing there in awe, I turned and looked up behind me.  Overtaken with beauty, I was back in my childhood again.  Where the giant hardwoods had lost their leaves, the sky was bright with the stars of Orion.  Already, I felt that I had been given a gift by what I had seen all night, but then to top it all off, Christmas had been presented to me in the trees.  The stars were so very bright.  As I walked under the canopy of trees very slowly, the stars appeared to be blinking from the small limbs that periodically blocked their view.  It occurred to me that a sight like this could have been what inspired Christmas lights.  This scene had to be similar to what the wise men saw as they traveled to see the baby Jesus; maybe not the same stars, but certainly as beautiful.  I returned back to the car to see that my wife and children had fallen asleep while trying to stay warm.  It was also a blessing to have the family that I love, and that, never fades with the morning light.  The world is rich with wonder, for anyone who is willing to see it. 

 Warren Yates 11/30/01                                                                                          Christmas Lights

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