A Luminous Holiday at the Andersons

How did bags of sand with lit ‘candles’ in them become our favorite Christmas decora-tion? 

Though the yard treatment is widely used in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California, we don’t see many examples of it here on the Central Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Still, once we saw them aglow in Sante Fe, we were hooked.  Year after year, setting out lit-up bags, is our favorite way to decorate our landscape.

History tells us the tradition of lighting paths so people can find their way to churches or other special locations, is thousands of years old. Without electric streetlights and porch lights, finding one’s way in the dark was a challenge. So people set fire to small piles of wood, arranged along pathways, to ensure humans could find their destination. To celebrate, communicate, and guide were the purposes for small fires along a route. Some say Mary and Joseph found their way to Bethlehem guided by burning woodpiles. To this day, in New Orleans, Louisiana, bonfires along the river road direct people to midnight mass during the holiday season.

In modern times, the series of blazes along a pathway transformed to a trail of small paper bags, with enough sand in each to hold the bags in place as well as support small candles. Thus, the luminaria, also spelled luminaries or liminario, became a common decoration to celebrate the holidays.

Today, we line two pathways to our home with sturdy plastic (see through) bags, which we reuse each year. My husband puts rocks in the bottom of all thirty-six bags, and each holds a battery-powered light that twinkles. Every timer is set for a 5 pm start and a 10 pm ending.

We like to think our luminarias provide a

warm welcome to our neighbors and friends. May the holidays bring you warmth and joy in 2025. And here’s to getting your kicks in 2026…Happy New Year!