Similar rituals have happened for thousands of years. Scandinavians lit Juul logs (or Yule logs) to
 honor the god Thor and celebrate the lengthening of days after the winter solstice in late December.
 Ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Saturnalia at the  same time of year. The modern Jewish
 festival of Hanukkah dates back nearly 2,200 years. The menorah is lit, one candle each day, to
 commemorate the time when Jews took back the temple in Jerusalem from the Greek-speaking
 Seleucid empire, and when a small container of olive oil, just  enough for a day, lit the Temple for
 eight days. “Miraculously that little cruse of oil lasted the entire time,” said Rabbi Mona Alfi, of
 Congregation B’nai Israel, a synagogue in Sacramento’s  Land Park neighborhood.

    In South Natomas, Rick Simmons elaborate light displays at 2973 Mendel Way has
  become a Christmas tradition for neighbors and visitors from around the region over
  the past eleven years. The 59-year-old auto mechanic creates a computer driven light
  show with tens of thousands of bulbs that flash on and off to rousing music he
  broadcasts over FM radio at 98.9. Watchers listen on their car radios. The displays
  start on the hour from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. through New Year’s Eve.
  (www.rickslights.com)  In the days before Christmas around 200 people will show up
    each night. Even in Monday night’s rain, attendance was good, Simmons said.

   “In the book of Genesis, one of the first things God does is create light,” she said. “When we talk about lighting
  the candle in the darkness, it’s about bringing hope and truth and knowledge into the world.” For many Christians,
  the Advent wreath offers a similar candle lighting ritual. The four candles of the wreath are lit – one by one – in the
  weeks leading up to Christmas. The white Christ Candle often included in the center is not lit until Christmas itself.
  “We light candles, one a week, to help us prepare for something so amazing and mysterious as the birth of Christ,”
  said the Rev. Kathy Hopner, director of children, youth and family ministries at Trinity Cathedral, an Episcopal church
  in midtown Sacramento.

   Over time, the four candles have come to represent peace, love, hope and joy, she said
 Historians say pre-Christian Europeans used candles and boughs of pine, mistletoe and
 holly green even in the cold of winter to symbolize eternal life. By the 14th century, Germans
 had adopted the practice of bringing cut evergreen trees into the home as symbols of
 Christianity and the returning spring – a tradition their descendants brought to the United
 States. “We see the coming of Christ as the light in the darkness of the world, and it’s also
 at the darkest time of year,” she said. Americans began decorating Christmas trees with
 candles in the early 19th century, according to historical accounts. It was a dangerous

 practice, often closely monitored with buckets of water and sand at hand. Thomas Edison’s invention of electric Christmas
 lights in the late 1800s made it safer to trim the tree and revolutionized the way Americans celebrate the holidays. Today, many
 homeowners deck out their roof lines and outdoor trees with lights, while others go to extreme for visitors.

  In Sacramento’s Fabulous 40s neighborhood, entire blocks are lined
with elaborate light displays, huge reindeer statues and nativity scenes.

   At Cal Expo, the site of the California State Fair, the Global Winter
Wonderland runs through Jan. 3 with massive lighted figures and
acrobats on ice.

    “Last night I had probably about 20 cars out here in the pouring rain,” he said Tuesday. “It was quite amazing.” Police officers and
  firefighters sometimes swing by to check out the light show, he said. An elderly neighbor once handed him a check to help cover utility
  bills and urged him to continue the Christmas show. One visitor, a large man, got out of his car and stood in the middle of the street,
  hands on hips, exclaiming in wonder. “He was beside himself,” Simmons said. Children often dance in the street to music he also plays
  on loudspeakers, he said. “I don’t do this for me. This is for everybody else,” Simmons said. The display takes him three weeks to set up,
  and he makes almost all the decorations and fixtures for the light show by hand. Simmons said he, too, is motivated by an urge to light
  cold winter nights and share a sense of joy. “Things aren’t always happy out there. I want to make somebody’s day a lot better and a lot
  brighter.”
End of Article.....

 
     During early December and my first year of computer controlled Christmas lighting. A neighbor who's a school teacher
   stopped by and handed me a check for $50.00. She asked me if I would continue the light show for the rest of the holiday
   season. She said the kids were talking about it at school. She said some of the families didn't have a lot of money and the
   light show brought happiness to what otherwise was a sad time of year. I didn't want to take the check but she insisted.
   It was at that moment things got real. I told my wife what she had said and I said, unless people didn't show up I was
   going to do this for as long as possible. She was onboard and Ricks Lights was born.

    The Sacramento Bee article refers to another neighbor who handed me $50.00 one evening. Again, I didn't want to take the
  money but she insisted. Her mother had passed away earlier in the year and this was something her mother had cherish
  every Christmas. I now consider her mother apart of the Christmas light show every year.

    It's been well over ten years since this all began. Its humbling to know folks plan their Christmas around my home. I see
  the large crowds. People cranking up the stereo in their cars, dance in the streets, having fun and cheering after the songs.
   It's what drives me to do better.

When I say "I do this for others " I hope you understand why.

It's a special time of year to be happy and have fun. We hope to brighten up your cold winter night !

Every night is dedicated to those watching from above. I know they are watching with big smiles.

                  Rick