The Star of Wonder & Light Trespass

 

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

 

    O Holy Night

 

O star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light.

 

    We Three Kings

 

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

 

    O Little Town of Bethlehem

Some of you will know from bitter(ly cold) experience that I inherited a tradition of going outside to sing Silent Night with candles in hand at the conclusion of Christmas Eve services in Sudbury. I can't recall looking upward but it probably would have been disappointing because it was a downtown church and there was plenty of street lighting. The same was true in Halifax, although in both Bowmanville and Belleville there were magical moments on the church steps when the stars shone brightly.

Stars are a biggie in Christmas and Epiphany carols, as you can see in the lyrics above. They were natural witnesses to an extraordinary birth according to scripture and song. Sadly, we can't really see them anymore thanks to excessive lighting in urban areas, and we are hardly aware of what we've lost. When we were in a fairly remote spot on the south shore of Nova Scotia this past October we had some amazing experiences of the night sky, including the Draconid meteor shower. These were opportunities for spacious wonder.



Enter a Canadian company which is manufacturing a line of  "dark sky" street lights. Lumican describes these lights as having low blue content and a warm amber colour and have full cut off shields that direct and shape the light to illuminate only where intended. Their literature speaks of addressing "light trespass" which is a great term. The "trespass" of light can ruin a decent night's sleep and make us physically sick as a consequence, not to mention psychologically ill. Spiritually ill as well?

There in nothing in Lumican's advertising that offers to make Christmas Eve a holier night but maybe they can add this pitch to the advantages of their lighting!

http://lumican.com/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkart/2018/05/23/dark-sky-friendly-lighting-lets-you-see-the-stars/#69691c467c3e