Outdoor Christmas light displays on houses evolved from decorating the traditional Christmas tree and house with candles during the Christmas season. The tradition of lighting the tree with small candles dates back to the 17th century and originated in Germany before spreading to Eastern Europe. European Christians used to display a burning candle in the windows of their house that was visible from the outside. The candles in the window indicated to other Christians that the house was a Christian house and that other Christians were welcome to come worship with the residents. And it took off from there.
This season, how about taking a family drive to check out some local light displays? Here are leads to some amazing local lights (note some require tickets):
- The North Shore Light Show in Haverhill, MA - tickets are required
- Light Up Meuthen features devorated trees throughout the city. A Google Map of their locations can be found here.
- The Daly Family in Fremont yard and house are adorned with thousands of lights and ornamentals. Find details here.
- In Salem, NH, visit Bradford Rd., Joyce Heard Ave., Old Coach Rd., Hampstead St.
- The homes on Concord Street in Wilmington, MA is decked out in 255,000 thousand lights. Should you decide to take a trip to Wilmington, also check out, Freeport Dr., Shady Lane Dr., Federal St., Lincoln St., Aldrich St., and Chestnut St.
And no trip would be complete without some holiday music. To keep the Advent season festive, make a playlist of your favorite Advent songs and take a drive to see some lights. Here are some playlists you might like:
- Spotify Playlist
- iTunes Playlist
- Ultimate Advent Playlist
