With Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to address a serious issue in American Society.  White Christmas lights have been flooding the streets and homes of the suburban populous for years now and nobody seems to care.

Christmas is about togetherness and spreading holiday cheer to everyone regardless of who they are. Colored lights are a representation of the Christmas spirit, with all of the differing bulbs strung together in harmony. You can drive through a suburban neighborhood and feel like you belong there as you bask in the glow of every color in the rainbow.

White lights, on the other hand, give off a cold and harsh glow, much like a streetlamp. When I pass by houses adorned with white, I don’t feel welcomed. I don’t feel the love and spirit of Christmas.

Now if white lights are mixed in with colored lights, perhaps lining the peaks of a roof, I have no quarrel with that. White has its place in a holiday display, just as much as any other color. But to cover the entirety of the outside of your home in a wall of white is upsetting and jarring to the eye.

I’ve also noticed a correlation between the attitude of a family and the use of white lights, or the lack there of.

The households on my street, who adorn their homestead with vibrant red, greens, yellows and blues are friendly and down to earth people. However, the families who enshrine their house in cold white lights tend to be colder themselves.

This doesn’t apply to every family I’ve ever known, who uses white lights, but it applies to a majority for sure. Many of these families are the recluses of the neighborhood who don’t mingle with the rest of the families because they look down on them. I’ve even overheard conversations between the aforementioned families discussing the “hillbilliness” of my family’s decorations and others.

Why must elitist values seep into something so kindhearted, and good natured as Christmas? This holiday has never been about looking down upon people who are different than yourself. People should band together, as colored lights do, and stand together in harmony to celebrate.

I think that deep down, most people realize that colored lights look more spirited and pleasing in general. However, some people can’t get past the chance to stand just one step above others and feel better about themselves.

All hope is not lost, though. In my neighborhood, the colored light people have taken a stand. Three chimneys used to consist of mostly white lights at Christmas time with a few colored houses dotted throughout the neighborhood.

In the last couple years, however, the colored light families have pushed back with dazzling displays of rainbow like houses. Several white light families have flipped and become colored light families and the streets of three chimneys are more colored than not at Christmastime these days.

All it took was a few strong examples for these families to no longer fear the backlash of using colored lights. They stopped worrying about fitting in and instead just decorated the way they felt looked best.

Keep in mind that even though I have a strong opinion on Christmas lights, I still don’t talk down about my neighbors or their character to anyone. I might believe something in my mind but I’ll never project my dislike to a single person, while lights are up and holiday music is playing. So this Christmas, open up your heart and accept everyone for who they are, even if they decorate with white lights.