MMC Light and Christmas

[Jeff Westover]

Light as a theme of Christmas dates back to the very beginnings of recorded history. As with many elements of Christmas it is a mixture of reverent worship, pagan tradition and spiritual symbolism that give light its lasting impact on Christmas.
In the Old Testament, the psalmist David wrote “The Lord is my light and my salvation”, a theme built upon the statement in Genesis when God said, “Let there be light, and there was light”.
Light has long been associated with God, good luck, warmth, growth, knowledge and life. Isaiah admonished all to “walk in the light of the Lord” and Jesus called himself the “Light of the World”.
Light, in the form a new star, was the sign given to the Magi in their quest to find the Christ Child.
The most important date in the festive season for Pagans is the winter solstice which always takes place around December 21, the shortest or darkest day of the year.
~ Pagan and Religious Recognition of Light ~
Called Yule, it is one of the traditional...

Continue reading...

 

[DixieBelle]

That was a very interesting read. Thank you.

 

[paulag]

Thanks for a great post!

 

[Perfct2u]

How interesting to read about the origins of 'festoon' and 'outfit' as it applied to Christmas lights. And that the one person responsible for marketing christmas lights as we know them today, is a bit of a tangle (pun intended) between Edison, Eveready, and the mad men of the time NOMA.