Skip to main content

blue christmas


after mentioning christmas lights in my last post, a thread began to emerge in the comments regarding the validity of blue lights for christmas. noting that this is of utmost theological importance, i thought it would be a valuable blogersation (can i just make up a word like that?).
so, here's the question: is blue a legitimate color for christmas lights?
discuss.
greg.

Comments

Megan said…
my parents' house has always been decorated in blue lights - as long as I can rememberinitially b/c our house had blue siding - so it just fit). It's not elegant like white lights, but it's different and kind of peaceful. I don't think it's a matter of legitimacy as much as one of preference. For my own house I prefer all white, but if my parents changed over it would be the end of a tradition.
greg milinovich said…
i hear you say that it is not a question of legitimacy, but for some it is.

in her comment on my last post mary wrote, "blue lights are un-christmas."

so that's my question: are they? if so, why are they un-christmas? and if not, why not?

these are the big universal questions that need to be answered.

i will weigh in with my own opinion all in good time. i'm looking for some other thoughts here first....
Bekah said…
I'm gonna stick with my previous answer, and go with the solid white for Christmas. I am honored to have a blog entry created because of a previous comment that I made.
Crafty P said…
Maybe Mary thinks that blue lights are more Hannukah-y? I can understand.

But I like them and I'm not going to change and I'd love to drive by Megan's parent's house to see their Blue Christmas Interpretation.

I will use white twinkle lights b/c that's what we have.

Greg, the OTR thing is totally a matter of opinion. I will be honest and say I didn't listen to Snow Angels as much as I have listened to DNOTY. I will let you know how I feel in a few more weeks after repeatedly listening to it. I just like DNOTY better, especially Silent Night. It's one of my fave versions.

ps. thanks for FINALLY stopping by my blog to post a comment. What, were you like busy with some sort of ordination process or something? geesh
I always get made fun of by liking blue lights, but for me I like them because of the theological implications- for to me blue represents a coldness- a transcendence aspect of God that gives me a special feeling. In the same vein, red lights I also like because it is my favorite color, and it also represents the immanence of God in and through Jesus Christ. It is interesting to study the physics of blue vrs. red, them being on the different ends of the visual spectrum. For fun, make a totally red computer screen then type blue printing on it, and vice-versa. It gives a real cool effect (very blurry) and I'm sure that there are preaching points to be made here about dichotomy and differences (within the same essential thing: Light). I also like the white because I have no choice in the matter for that is what we have, so I rationalize that by saying that represents the holiness and presence of all aspects of the Godhead. just my two cents.
dad
Crafty P said…
See. I knew there were even more reasons I liked your dad so much.

we both like blue lights. HA!

I, however, just like them b/c they're pretty and a bit mesmerizing. No theological reasons for me.
monica said…
well, maybe for the annunciation, blue is an appropriate color. it is one we usually see mary wearing, as it symbolizes purity. i think since christmas is celebrating God with us, and God created all the colors, why limit your self?
Emoly said…
What your Dad said has some color theory behind it too. Stare at red long enough, look away to a white sheet of paper and tell me what color you see (if you're not color blind).

As far as blue lights themselves go... I like blue. (I remember my dad had the screw-bulb kind, and some of the blue ones looked more green/turquoise and I did not like that) And we bought the led lights that look blue, not white. I think any color light can be "Christmasy" because we are lighting the path the way the star did for the wise men. Stars aren't all white (they're yellow, blue, etc depending on their age) so why not have all the colors for Christmas lights?
Anonymous said…
i'm attracted to any shiny object, including blue lights. any color other than the ubiquitous (and boring) white is fine. the coolest thing i've seen in recent memory is a farm fence in all green lights. that was very cool. so, yeah, blue is fine. plus, don't most statues of Mary have her in a blue robe? Not that I'm an expert on Mary statues, but my father-in-law used to keep one in the bushes and when it was time to repaint her, out came the blue can.
cathyq said…
Way to go Greg. You gave your dad a forum for his "blue is a great Christmas color" argument! GRRRR. I apologize if it offends anyone, but I hate blue lights. They make me melancholy and I think of dark, barely lit basements and gambling parlors. They do not speak of Joy to the World nor "Hark the Herald Angels Sing! For some reason, they also speak of "cheap" and "tacky" to me. Dad has always been a fan of all the colored lights. I like the white ones. We compromise by having white lights on the outside and multi-colored ones on the tree. There is a house down the road from us that has one of those fake, spikey-looking trees (all blue) in its front yard. Dad loves it. I would like to sneak into their yard, take the ugly thing, and give it a proper burial, but alas, I am a law-adiding citizen and cannot justify tree stealing of any type.

Last thought: If you like blue lights for christmas, is your favorite Christmas song, "Blue Christmas"?
greg milinovich said…
well, well. i must say that it is nice to have some discussion over here for a change, even if it revolves around the inane.

let's get some perspective here: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.

okay, now that that's out of my system, i will say that i am a big fan of blue christmas lights. i could conjure up some deep theological stance like many of you have done here (and then you complain that my posts are too deep), but the truth is more along the lines of juli's comment, "i'm attracted to any shiny object." for me, the blue just looks cool.

for mary and others (mom seems to have a fairly strong opinion on the subject) blue doesn't seem like it fits with the traditional holiday color scheme (green, red, white, silver, gold). but for me, blue looks cold. like winter. like ice. and i like it. so there.

however, that being said, we have clear lights. if i could have anything at all and not electrocute myself, i would prefer to use the old school big bulbs. there's something refreshingly retro about that.

but, after receiving a warning from the state of california about the dangers of handling christmas lights of any kind, i think we will just hang wreaths next year. green ones.

peace.
greg.
cathyq said…
Do we need even more evidence that you are just like your father? Please! What does Shannon think?

Popular posts from this blog

bad haircuts (for a laugh)

everybody needs to laugh.  one good way i have found to make that happen is to do a simple google image search for 'bad haircut.'  when you do so, some of the following gems show up.  thankfully, my 9th grade school picture does NOT show up.  otherwise, it would certianly make this list!  please laugh freely and without inhibition.  thank you and have a nice day. 

happiness is dry underwear

we started potty training jack on thursday. we followed a program called POTTY TRAIN IN ONE DAY, which, by the way, i think is kind of crazy. i mean, if someone were to offer you a book called, "ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE IN ONE DAY" i don't think you would take it seriously. and yet here we are, trying to accomplish an equally daunting task in one 24-hour period. it is intense. the day is shrouded in a lie because as soon as your happily diapered child wakes up you tell him that it is a big party. we had balloons and streamers and noisemakers and silly string - all the trappings of a legitimate party. but it is most certainly not a party. it is a hellishly exhausting day. as soon as jack got out of bed, we gave him a present: an anatomically correct doll that wets himself. jack named him quincy. several times quincy successfully peed in the potty and even had an accident or two in his "big boy underwear." he also dropped a deuce that looked and smelled sus

the crucifixion of Robert Lewis

  "the crucifixion of Robert Lewis" mixed media collage with leaves, acrylic paint, and found objects by gregory a milinovich october 2023 this october i was invited to participate in a three day trip which was called a "pilgrimage of pain and hope."  while that may not sound super exciting to many of you, it actually really intrigued me.  i am the kind of person that wants to feel big feelings, and i am drawn to the deep places, so  i was interested in traveling to the scranton area, where the trip was planned, to see what it might look like to be a pilgrim that was wide-eyed and listening to the pain and the hope in the stories of others.   this trip included hearing the stories of immigrants to the northeastern pennsylvania area, and the work in the coal mines that many of them did.  it included hearing from folks who are working for housing justice and equity in downtown scranton.  it included hearing from those indigenous people who first inhabited that land.