Christmas lights adorn snow-laden conifers along a street in Jackson. (Angus M. Thuermer Jr./WyoFile)
Around the state, towns and cities are holding holiday lighting ceremonies and tours of buildings lit in the Christmas spirit.
From Gillette to Cheyenne, from the Kemmerer Triangle to the Jackson Town Square, residents gather to celebrate the holidays, made brighter during the cold season by illuminated displays and decorations.
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Christmas lights grew out of European traditions centered around the Christmas tree. Candles were originally employed to symbolize Christ’s declaration “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”
Christians are only one of many cultures, religions and societies that have lights and flames as symbols. From the Hindu festival of Diwali to the Hanukkah ritual of the menorah; from the lantern festival in China to Burning Man, fire and light are universal icons.
Americans buy some 150 million sets of lights each year, according to an article in Smithsonian Magazine in 2016. They draw 6 percent of the country’s electricity consumption each December, the magazine said.
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