All of the Lights

December 3, 2021 - Winter solstice is still a few weeks away, and I don’t know about you all, but I’m having a hard time this year watching the sun set so early. Thank goodness for the holiday lights!

The Smithsonian Magazine published an article a few years ago about Edward Hibberd Johnson, Thomas Edison’s partner at the Edison Lamp Company, and the father of modern Christmas lights. In 1882, Johnson wired together strings of colored lights to replace the hazardous candles that used to light up Christmas trees. However, it took a few decades for electric lights to become mainstream. President Grover Cleveland put electric lights on the White House tree for the first time in 1894, and by the 1930s, most families were able to afford the colorful decorations.

My family has a Christmas tree every year but we also hang parol in our windows. Making and hanging parol (lanterns) is a Filipino Christmas tradition that celebrates the joy and hope of the holiday season. San Francisco’s SOMA (South of Market) Pilipinas has hosted a Parol Lantern Festival for the past 20 years and they have a wonderful introductory video that touches on the history of parol in Filipino and Filipino-American culture.

Last year, Disney debuted the short film “From Our Family to Yours” which featured a Filipina lola (grandmother) and her granddaughter and their holiday tradition of making parol together. I won’t say there were tears when I watched the video, but the Kleenex box sure was lighter by the time the credits rolled!

Of course, Christmas isn’t the only holiday during the winter that uses lights as a symbol of celebration. Diwali, or Festival of Lights, is an important Indian holiday and was celebrated on November 4th this year. The menorah candelabrum is a well-known symbol of Hanukkah / Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.

For books about these bright, winter holidays, see below.

Maria Martin, Library Associate