The Symbol of Lights in Holiday Traditions Around the World

Fire and lights are magical, powerful, and mesmerizing symbols that have intrigued people for centuries and can be seen in ancient traditions across the world. With the end of daylight savings time and the approaching winter holidays, we wanted to dive into how various cultures integrate lights into their festivities during the darker season.

Throughout history, winter solstice gatherings have celebrated the year’s harvest and highlighted the connection between the sun and the crops. Both this special star and our beautiful food share hues of gold and yellow, and are crucial for living, surviving, and thriving on Earth. During the shortest days of the year, candles and lights were used to express the sacred hope and belief that the long sunny days will be back again soon.

While the specifics vary amongst different cultures, many share similar beliefs that lights also symbolize important virtues like knowledge, goodness, wisdom, and divine energy, acting as a means to ward off sadness during the darkest times. Lights and candles bring positivity, warmth, and they invite people to gather together around—a central element to the hygge and koselig concepts of creating coziness, a warm atmosphere for the soul, and a soothing ambiance to brighten the home.

The origin of Christmas lights, in particular, is considered to be rooted in two European cultural customs: a German tradition of hanging candles on evergreen trees and an English tradition of placing candles by the windows. Both practices celebrate the start of the Christmas season.

The reason for using candles during Hanukkah goes deeper, as the 8 lights we usually light up on the menorah in the 8 days of Hanukkah symbolize the miracle that happened during the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BCE. A similar tradition exists in some areas of Norway—families light a candle every night from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day.

Strings of tiny lights, also known as fairy lights, are used in diverse religious celebrations, including at the end of fasting during Ramadan in Islam and in the Hindu celebration of Diwali, known as the Festival of Lights.

Thanks to Thomas Edison, who created the first outdoor electric Christmas light displays and introduced them to the world, we now have the most brilliant lights that shine in dazzling colors for these festive times.

This season, our team at Kvarøy is inviting you on an exciting, educational, and inspiring trip to explore the meaning of light in different cultures and in their seasonal holiday traditions.

Let’s immerse ourselves in the diverse world of cultures and their wisdom. Let’s open our homes and hearts to new knowledge. In this journey, we can both connect with our global community and learn a lot about ourselves!