Read

The Magic of Small Lights in the Darkness

Published:
December 15, 2023
December 19, 2022
Read why Christmas lights are magical for this author.|Read why Christmas lights are magical for this author.

As a young girl, I was captivated by Christmas lights. Come November 1st, my neighborhood had an obsessive compulsion with burying any sign of Halloween and putting up as many Christmas lights as possible before three feet of snow took over our entire lives. While my parents often referred to the lights as “obnoxious,” I was filled with excitement as my neighborhood cloaked itself in a soft Christmas glow. I remember squinting my eyes until the lights blurred together. Those blurry lights filled my heart with joy and wonder as I was overcome with the beauty of the lights in the darkness.

This magic belonged to my neighbors all throughout November, but never to me until Thanksgiving was long over. Once mid-December rolled around, my parents would finally find it within themselves to dust off our red and green storage bins and start setting up our own decorations. As we dug through our basement for these precious containers, I’d feel my heart beat with excitement as the winter wonderland was finally brought into my own home. 

My father was a perfectionist when it came to decorating our home. While his perfectionism verged on annoying, I was always impressed by his intentionality. I’d study his methods as he wrapped lights around our Christmas tree. He was so calculated with spacing and color choices. My family mocked his desire for perfection but all of those laughs would turn silent as he plugged in the lights and put his work on display. The glistening of these simple lights left me breathless. My eyes would be overcome with the bright joy that now decked my home, and I’d stare in awe at his work as the whole world seemed to melt away. 

What a joy it was to capture the magic of Christmas in a single moment of time. As I’d stare at these lights the spirituality of winter would all of a sudden make sense to my young soul. Every magical moment I saw at the end of a Christmas movie, every carol and storybook was captured by these tiny glowing bulbs. While everyone around me would move on from this moment within seconds, it would remain in my mind throughout the whole winter season. 

This sense of wonder never left me. Years passed, Christmases came and went, but the lights were still the most magical thing I knew. As I grew from girl to woman, those cheap white lights continued to enlighten my heart. It is this very enlightenment that still today brings me the space of peace as winter draws near. This same space of spirituality is where our hearts are intended to move to in these cold months. 

As I pulled out my own lights this year, I returned to this space. I became warm, filled with hope as I breathed in the season. I thought back to my parents decorating for Christmas when I was growing up. It was funny — a task that would notoriously drive my family insane instead brought me a sense of renewed joy. I wrapped the dusty lights around our home banister and marveled at the purpose of these simple decorations. 

All too often, Christmas decorations can be used as cheap contributions towards a commercialized day on the calendar. To many, they lack any profound meaning and are simply “a thing that we do” come the day after Thanksgiving. But for those who search for more, these simple decorations are greatly significant to the season. 

In these cold winter months, the days become shorter, the nights become longer, and we become a people waiting in darkness, searching for the great light of rebirth within the season. We pull out our Christmas trees, hang our stockings by the chimney with care, and partake in all our own holiday traditions in the name of preparation. Like an expectant mother, we lay the groundwork for the coming of life — a new life filled with hope, peace, joy, and love. 

For myself, the lights do this better than anything else. They pull my heart towards the soft peace that covers us with the winter snow. They remind me not only to pause within the spirituality of the season but to ponder the majesty of it all. In these dark months, as we clothe our homes in candles, white lights, and technicolor, we create a small light within the darkness of our world. Just as the lights ushered me into a space of wonder and awe as a child, I am drawn back into that magical moment as an adult. 

How often do we pause within the winter months to ponder the light, the darkness, or the majesty of the season? How often do we open our hearts to the sacred nature of these months, contemplating the magic that awaits us in the Christmas season? My friends, the winter season is a time in which we await the rebirth of the year. We open our hearts by preparing our homes to welcome both ourselves and those around us into an intimate space of warmth and love. We bathe our homes, our streets, and our neighborhoods in lights that create a magical space of spiritual growth. 

I invite you this season to open your hearts to this magic. Look at decorations as more than a chore, a nuisance, or a shallow display of commerciality. Push your heart into the hope and peace that await you in the darkness, and the joy that accompanies you into the light. Enter into the spirituality of winter. 

May your winter months be filled with magic and light, and may your hearts embrace new life within the new year. 

Creators:
Katie Ekblad Traver
Published:
December 15, 2023
December 19, 2022
On a related note...
Must-See #WednesdayWisdom From Chris Pratt

Must-See #WednesdayWisdom From Chris Pratt

Grotto Shares

A Random, Creative Way to Remember to Pray

A Random, Creative Way to Remember to Pray

Amanda Roberts

How I Found the True Meaning of 'Play'

How I Found the True Meaning of 'Play'

Ben Wilson

Entering the Convent at Age 23

Entering the Convent at Age 23

Grotto

Why I'm Catholic: I'm Not Alone

Why I'm Catholic: I'm Not Alone

Grotto

Special Olympics Coach Gives Back | Little Ways: Volunteer

Special Olympics Coach Gives Back | Little Ways: Volunteer

Grotto

St. Agatha Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

St. Agatha Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

From Living on the Streets to Cleaning Them Up

From Living on the Streets to Cleaning Them Up

Grotto

Some Questions Have to Be Lived, Not Answered

Some Questions Have to Be Lived, Not Answered

Christian Santa Maria

How Baseball Teams Celebrate Mass During the Season

How Baseball Teams Celebrate Mass During the Season

Grotto Shares

He Brews Beers and Community

He Brews Beers and Community

Grotto

What It’s Really Like to Be In Your 20s and 4 Years Sober

What It’s Really Like to Be In Your 20s and 4 Years Sober

Erica Tighe Campbell

Sts. Peter and Paul Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Sts. Peter and Paul Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

How to Start Your Own Organic Yard

How to Start Your Own Organic Yard

Emily Bouch

'Street Nun' Formed a Community Through Canning

'Street Nun' Formed a Community Through Canning

Grotto

Sister Jean and the Loyola-Chicago Men's Basketball Team

Sister Jean and the Loyola-Chicago Men's Basketball Team

Grotto Shares

Meet the Woman Who Turned Her Restaurant Into a Food Pantry

Meet the Woman Who Turned Her Restaurant Into a Food Pantry

Grotto

3 Ways to Make Lent Less About Dieting and More About God

3 Ways to Make Lent Less About Dieting and More About God

Meg Miller

Good and Decent S2|E7: Reaching Out

Good and Decent S2|E7: Reaching Out

Grotto

I Glorified the Grind in College, But Chronic Stress Broke Me Down

I Glorified the Grind in College, But Chronic Stress Broke Me Down

Noah Bongiovanni

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.