Light Values

Christmas Tree Lane, photo courtesy of thehomestory.com

Christmas is my favorite time of year, and it has a lot to do with light - or more precisely, light's relationship to how that time of year makes me feel. It comes down to a few different things. The first is the physical act of putting up Christmas lights. It is a tradition, a way for families to come together, to enjoy each other's company and to create something simple and beautiful as a family. As a little girl, it was always my dad and me who would put up the lights at Christmas, and our house always ended up looking like a giant, magnificent birthday cake. It was something we did together, and it was a tradition I will always carry with me. In the creation of something beautiful, this is where we, as well as countless other families, came together and took pleasure in simply creating. Then there is the symbiosis of each house on the block, each separate family's endeavor coming together and creating an entire street of houses that twinkle and shine when the sun goes down. For a month out of the year, everything becomes a little more saturated. I was thinking about that this year, as I was decorating my tree. I was thinking about how silly it may look to an outsider, how one might question why we get so much pleasure out of stringing tiny plastic lights on a giant pine tree inside our homes. One might look in from the outside at me, see me getting such pleasure from the multicolored light, and wonder from where do I get such pleasure. For me, the pleasure is in the beauty of it, the symbolism, and the memories I carry with me from 23 previous years of decorating Christmas trees. I imagine that most people feel the same way I do, and perhaps even for the same reasons, or why would we all continue to do it every year? I love walking down different streets during Christmas, or driving through Griffith park to see the light show, or down Christmas tree lane, because the lights create a world that is filled with magic and beauty. It's one perfect and magnificent example of how light is transformative. Once a year, I get to partake in a communal transformation that is celebratory and beautiful, and it always reminds me that light is synonymous with ecstasy.

Griffith Park Festival of Lights, photo courtesy of beastandbean.wordpress.com