The Christmas season is fast approaching. The first week of December often heralds the beginning of Christmas decorating including the putting up of festive Christmas lights. Although, the fact of Christmas lighting has remained constant for decades, the actual Christmas lights have undergone an enormous evolution.

At first glance it seems as though Christmas lights and Christmas decorations rarely change. We still use the same wreaths, garlands, mistletoe, stars and angels that out grandparents did. We still hang Christmas lighting from the edges of our roof tops. One of the special things about Christmas is the cherished continuity. It always feels the same. However, in reality Christmas lights have undergone a metamorphosis.

In days gone by, each individual Christmas bulb was hand screwed into a string of Christmas bulbs. Putting up the strings was heavy and cumbersome work. It was tricky work to get each light to light at the same time and then it was tricky work to get them fastened to the rain gutter. Each year many of the light bulbs needed to be replaced despite working perfectly when they were stored the year before.

The technology related to lighting has advanced considerably and accordingly so have Christmas lights. Most modern Christmas lights are made of tiny LED lights. These lights are tiny, light weight, (recently) inexpensive, and very energy efficient. In fact, a recent study out of Germany and reported in the New York Times claims these lights are five times more energy efficient than their predecessors.

Small LED lights are also great for creating focal pieces such as light balls and light stars. These focal pieces are starting to get very popular. At one time they were very expensive but now they can be found reasonably priced at Ikea.

Indeed, it is the time for Christmas lights. Our homes and communities will be decorated as they have been decorated for centuries. Everything might look the same. However, with new technology Christmas lights have changed for the better.

Read more about christmas lights and solar lights at Christmas Lights.