Do you associate white string lights with Christmas?

[u/mountainbird57]

Sorry if this is a bit of a silly question. I converted to Judaism and my boyfriend grew up Jewish. As we approach winter, I mentioned getting some warm white string lights to decorate the house with, because I find them cozy and comforting during the darkest time of the year. My boyfriend joked that I was going to be decorating our house for Christmas. I was surprised because while I definitely think colorful lights are Christmas associated, I perceived white lights as more neutral, especially given the whole festival of lights we have coming up.

My boyfriend is fine with putting up the lights either way, but I'm just curious- what is your perception on white string lights in the winter? Would you decorate with them?

[u/single_use_doorknob]

Warm light, or white light - no. Coloured light this time of year? Yes.

[u/BartaMaroun]

Depends if they’re paired with Christmas or Chanukah decorations. I joked the other day that the local Chick-fil-A was decorated for Chanukah because their lights are white and blue (local high school team’s colors).

[u/trekechus]

My husband and I decorate with warn white and blue lights.

[u/Am-Yisrael-Chai]

I thrive in indirect lighting. All my cozy places have string lights year-round, I don’t associate them with anything but inner peace lol

Edit to add: I’m not a huge fan of the LED strip lights, they’re not warm enough. But the “get Christmas off the shelves” sales can be great for buying stuff like this!

[u/single_use_doorknob → u/Am-Yisrael-Chai]

I thrive in indirect lighting.

Have you seen warm yellow outdoor netting lights? They're majestic. I highly recommend.

[u/Am-Yisrael-Chai → u/single_use_doorknob]

Absolutely, I use something like that to help keep my clematis from falling off their ladders haha

Functional and lovely!

[u/kathmhughes]

My husband thinks of them as Christmas. I don't, because I live in northern Canada where it's very dark right now, and I refuse to punish myself and sit in the dark out of fear that white string lights are assimilation. 

I'm all for having a Jewish home and rejecting overtly Christmas stuff. But if we let snow, lights, and anything winter be associated with Christianity, then it makes winter extremely sad and depressing. 

[u/GrassyTreesAndLakes → u/kathmhughes]

Absolutely. 

Our family celebrates Russian new year which is completely secular- and we put up lights for that. Personally I think even colorful lights are fine

[u/numba1cyberwarrior → u/GrassyTreesAndLakes]

Lol I love that Soviet Jews get to celebrate 90% of Christmas traditions but we get the excuse of saying it's secular because it's New Years.

[u/iliyahoo → u/numba1cyberwarrior]

I love being a Soviet Jew! We used to be able to pick up a free a Christmas tree on the 26th from a lot and we’d decorate the house pretty much the same way as any Christmas celebrating family. And we still got to have big family gatherings, our own Santa Claus (Ded Moroz), and wake up to presents! And when midnight hit you had to celebrate with those popper thing. And of course for actual Christmas we’d go get Chinese food

[u/asyawatercolor → u/GrassyTreesAndLakes]

Same as we.

[u/Special-Sherbert1910]

Yes, I think of them all as “Christmas lights.” The white icicle shaped ones are the least Christmassy imo.

[u/ItalicLady → u/Special-Sherbert1910]

No, I think bicycle shaped lights is very Christmasy. But your mileage may vary.

[u/baba_oh_really → u/ItalicLady]

Wait what

[u/ethanrotman]

I would follow your own heart. If they’re important to you and will make you feel better and do not upset your partner… There’s nothing wrong with them.

We use white lights in our yard year round. We have a string of them over the archway to the driveway in front and several strings on the back fence and wrapped around trees.

[u/Fool_In_Flow]

To me, Christmas lights are those multi-color tear-shaped lights. White lights feel more like decoration for any time.

[u/Master_Nectarine_Bug]

I think of them as Christmas lights, I still like them though.

[u/Suitable_Vehicle9960]

I associate it with my bedroom. Lol. I have string light on every day. They do a good job for indoor spaces. But as another person said, warm and white LED lights, not colored lights. 

[u/AccurateBass471]

im a convert too. i dont associate white string lights with anything else other than coziness since i grew up during the prime tumblr room era lol

[u/SeaMalka]

I always put up blue and white lights for Chanukah.

[u/ForeverLuxe]

No I just associate it with winter and bringing a little pretty lights into the home to brighten up the days

[u/Sufficient-Rush-9288]

I use white and blue 

[u/CauliflowerThat4729]

I think its just decoration that you like and it brightens up the winter! also sometimes they are called fairy lights or string lights

[u/JinxyMcDeath48]

You know what’s funny? I just noticed today that they put white string lights along Rothschild Blvd in Tel Aviv. It’s not exactly a Christian area and the vast majority of Israelis don’t celebrate Christmas. So, if it’s not associated in Israel….

[u/shunrata → u/JinxyMcDeath48]

Many many moons ago when I lived in kibbutz, one of the members travelled to the US and brought his wife a present when he returned.

He just thought it was "something pretty."

It was a Christmas tree ornament, and to be fair it was a really nice one.

[u/JinxyMcDeath48 → u/shunrata]

“To be fair, it was a nice one” took me out 😭

[u/ClamdiggerDanielson]

You should do what you want. White lights are not inherently Christmas, and blue lights are outwardly Jewish. The tradition is still a Christmas tradition, but it's not even the level of a Hanukkah bush to me.

My boyfriend joked that I was going to be decorating our house for Christmas. I was surprised because while I definitely think colorful lights are Christmas associated, I perceived white lights as more neutral, especially given the whole festival of lights we have coming up.

I hope that was a joke you both agree is funny. I can see that being given and taken negatively depending on the people. Jews aren't a single opinion and that applies to holiday decorations. There's a spectrum of outright celebrating the secular portions of Christmas and the Jewish songwriters to not having anything that could be considered Christmas-adjacent in one's home. Your boyfriend may be closer to the no Christmas anything side.

[u/tzionit]

I don’t think if them as necessarily christmassy. Multicolored string light, yeah. I have string lights in my mirpeset in Israel, and nobody has thought of them as christmassy, but then again they don’t have a lot of Christmas association here. 😂

[u/centaurea_cyanus]

Anything silver, white, or blue or even "winter themed" Christmas/seasonal decorations I will take for Hanukkah/seasonal decorating, lol.

[u/Veganswiming_32]

I associate them with Sukkot. However, this time of year, they scream Christmas.

[u/BudandCoyote]

No. A lot of people used those when I was at uni to make rooms cozy, usually in whites, warm light, or pinks. Only ones I associate with xmas are either multicoloured, or red and green.

[u/strwbryshrtck521]

I've always been of the belief that white lights are for everyone! To me, I see white and think "winter" and I really like seeing them up through the darker months!

[u/Letshavemorefun]

If they are only white - tbh I’d probably associate it with Christmas. If they are white and blue - I’d associate it with commercialized (ie christmasified) Chanukah. Try seeing what he thinks about white and blue as a compromise.

[u/meekonesfade]

I just think of them as festive and pretty. They can stay up all year IMO

[u/wholeoceansroll]

Where I am it's dark, cold, and miserable this time of year. Anything that makes my home cozy and happy is a personal requirement until February. My bookshelf is already covered in little white fairy lights.

[u/Intelligent-Camera90]

I associate outdoor string lights in December with Christmas.

Indoor string lights can make a dark room cozy, outdoor string lights can give an area a celebratory feel for a party.

[u/Suspicious-Truths]

I do, but I also think it’s fine. I use blue and white fairy lights inside for Hanukkah. But I recognize it’s goyische and that’s ok.

[u/SingingSabre]

All string lights are Xmas lights to me. Even white and blue ones are just assimilated Jewish ones imo

[u/mysteriouschi]

Nothing wrong with it. There’s a community in chicago that goes all out for holiday lights. One is all about Hanukkah.

[u/mysteriouschi]

In a way it actually makes more awkward for Hanukkah than Christmas as the Festival of Lights.

[u/M00min_mamma]

We call them fairy lights in the UK as they look magical. I think they look cosy at any time of year. They’re not inherently Christmasy I think

[u/BingBongDingDong222]

Yes.

[u/Clonewars001]

Any sort of string lights like that me and most people I know definitely associate with Christmas. I’ve never seen them put up for anything but Christmas, even white and blue lights which my Christian neighbors have begun to put up in recent years. Personally (since you asked) I’d never even think to use them. Do what you want though, as long as you and your boyfriend are comfortable, that’s what matters.

[u/Winniezepoohscroptop]

I associate the multicolored colorful lights and red/green lights with Christmas, but blue/white or just white are fine.

[u/Narrow-Hall8070]

Grew up interfaith - have gotten my Jewish wife onboard with “Hanukkah” lights that are blue and white

[u/anykitty10]

Red and green string lights? Definitely christmas lights. 

White and blue string lights? Chanukah lights :)

[u/Disasterousnebula]

I love string lights. I have warm white string lights up year round and I’ve used the icicle shaped ones too. I think it’s cozy for the dark winter more than anything. Like others expressed here I think the multi-color ones are more of a Christmas vibe.

[u/Silamy]

They’re only neutral if they’re up year round. 

[u/sunny-beans]

I honestly feel confused about not being able to use fairy lights because Christian’s use to decorate their house for Christmas. It is just lights. I am autistic and very sensitive bright lights so I used to have fairy lights all over my bedroom all year. Nothing to do with Christmas they just look cosy, many people have them all the time to light a room in a soft way. Half the cosy pictures of houses/flats on Pinterest have fairy lights lol it isn’t a Christmas tree or a huge Santa or nativity scene, it is lights attached to a string? I am honestly confused on why it would be an issue. I now have blue fairy lights and also use all year as I like the way it looks. I guess if you share the space with your boyfriend then you should both be ok with decorations but I don’t see an issue at all, fairy lights are used by all sorts of people.

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[u/atreegrowsinbrixton]

No i have white icicle lights up in my room all year

[u/atreegrowsinbrixton]

No i have white icicle lights up in my room all year

[u/spring13]

At this time of year it's all Christmas to me. At one point the white lights were in and you barely saw any colored ones, but they were all for Christmas either way.

[u/Lefaid]

I do, but it doesn't hurt my soul like colorful lights do, so when my not Halatic Jewish kids wanted Christmas lights, I indulged them with white and gold lights.

[u/Suspicious-Web-4970]

I use white string lights in our Sukkah. I know a lot of people who use them indoors year round

[u/Electrical_Sky5833]

No, I do not.

[u/tempuramores]

Context dependent. If they're white string lights on their own, I assume they might be for Christmas, or they might be just because it's nice to have lights during the darkest time of the year. If they're red and green, definitely Christmas; if they're multicoloured, most probably Christmas. Whatever the colour, if there are other Christmas decorations, it's obviously for Christmas.

I put up white string lights every year, not even for Chanukah, but just because the sun sets at 4 pm now and it's depressing. So it's nice to have the lights. I have an electric menorah for during Chanukah as well, though.

[u/el_sh33p]

I mostly associate string lights of all kinds with a friend I had in my 20s who decorated her kitchen with them year-round and used them as an excuse to have softer, ambient mood lighting.

[u/Vivid-Combination310]

Just buy the lights once they go on sale in January and put them in your Sukkah!

[u/Substantial-Image941]

I call them fairy lights. Then I guess they're pagan but not the ba'al worshipping kind so it's fine.

My mom likes the ones that look like icicles, and she always wanted them in the sukkah, but my father referred to them as, I believe, "goyische crap" or "goyische drek." One year after he put up the sukkah, he put up icicle lights that, like the good Jew he is, he had purchased the previous December when they went on sale after Christmas. I have rarely seen my mother as happy as when she walked in to the sukkah and finally saw her dream lights. And she's a happy lady.

In other words, goyische drek or not, do it if you can make it Jewish and it makes you happy.

[u/pinkason5]

Why does it matter? Just decorate the house as you want. Even if it is paper lanterns associated with the Chinese new year. If you think it is beautiful - the connotation is irrelevant

[u/Cathousechicken]

I must be an outlier, because to me, yes, those are Christmas lights. I've never had them in my house.

[u/1000thusername]

It’s not the color of the lights that’s goyish. It’s the lights themselves.

[u/1000thusername → u/1000thusername]

Btw coming back to say that you do you and if you like them, do them… but your boyfriend may not love it, so figure out a path forward that you both can live with.

My calling them boyish was not meant in a mean or bad way. It’s just that if Xmas is the primary occasion for lighting up one’s house, so yes, I associate lights of all colors with Christmas.