Let’s Light It Up
Decoration time! In the spirit of the current holidays, Halloween through New Years, let’s get the party going!
Lights around every window, door, roof, roof angle, tree, bush, deck, staircase, and on the Christmas tree. That’s just in the home!
Busy street lights, additionally lit up with lighted decorative ‘city’ ornaments or wreaths.
Brick and mortar stores with lit roof lines, store windows, one or many Christmas trees and of course the business lights themselves.
Almost every neighborhood development has some kind of bushes or trees at their entrance decorated with lights. Usually white or off-white, yet it seems there is never just one lit tree.
Then someone created the blow-up ornaments. Those big yard ones that inflate during the evening/night hours and are all bright and beautiful, or annoying, then deflate in the morning when the timer goes off or you remember to unplug them.
If you’re in the northern states, provinces, or countries around the world, SNOW!
One thing about winter that is nice, having a decent blanket of snow makes it easier to see things or people in your yard at night.
If you didn’t catch the clue, snow is Reflective!
On the other hand, you add all the decorations and lights to a bright white blanket of snow and you’ve magnified the little or lot that you just put up.
“Artificial light that bounces off snow can be twice as bright as the full moon at its most radiant, a new study reveals. And that could mean bad news for cities trying to reduce their light pollution.
Researchers studied differences in sky brightness in three areas: a village near the Arctic Circle and the suburbs of Germany, both with recently fallen snow, and a remote, snowless Latvian beach. A blanket of new snow could increase the amount of light in the sky above a suburban area by as much as 33% on a clear night, the team reports this month in the Journal of Imaging.
When the sky was cloudy, the brightness rose almost 200%, more than twice as bright as the full moon.”
https://www.science.org/content/article/light-reflected-fresh-snow-can-outshine-moon
After the moon, Jupiter and Venus are the brightest objects in the night sky. Until Christmas and the month of Ramadan.
Of course, that was referring to the entire earth. But our little piece of earth, our home or community, is still impacted during the holiday season. Like mentioned in Holidays Autism Style, this tends to start around Halloween and goes through New Years.
What if God wanted to shine His light as He has done in the past?
Wise Men from the East
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
https://www.bible.com/bible/114/MAT.2.NKJV
Would we even have an opportunity to see it?
Everything around is so bright. In fact, the brighter is supposed to be more beautiful, right?
Many people and kids, especially with autism, get overwhelmed with all the bright lights of various colors, shapes, and displays. Again, as mentioned before, keeping up with the ‘jones’ is not necessary. Now they even have light shows that can be coordinated to music.
It is perfectly okay to enjoy decorating and and to see the beautiful lights of the holiday season.
Just be aware of the ‘why’. If it’s stressing you out and you’ve realized that your special needs child is aggravated by the bright lights, is it a necessary item in order to still enjoy the Meaning of the season?
Getting My Joy Back 