Nyctophobia
Most common among children the world over is the fear of the dark. It is most prevalent in children aged 3-6, as they have more vivid imaginations. Which has lead researchers to conclude that children are not actually afraid of the dark, but afraid of what they imagine in the dark that can’t be seen.
Young toddlers are plagued by the thought of monsters under the bed and in closets, and often dread the scary dreams that may come. Children know that monsters are not real but they begin to fear real life “monsters” , people who might harm them or natural disasters. For older children the darkness can trigger anxieties concerning loss. Fears of losing loved ones, popularity, failing a test, or blowing a big sports game. Fears change and vary as we grow older, but the nighttime and darkness remain the constant conduit of these anxiety triggers for many of us.
Many Christmas traditions try to project a symbolic picture of hope with illumination brought on by candles and lights. During the advent season in Prague, this illumination is taken to the next level, as there are some 700 gas lamps adorning the paths of the historic city center. Prague does hold a small claim to fame in that the Charles Bridge is the only gas lit bridge in the world. At the peak of gas lamp usage in 1940, there were some 9,000 gas lamps and around 140 lamplighters. Gas lamps went out of fashion after WWII and were discontinued entirely in 1985. However, the tradition was revived in 2002 as a way to make the center of Prague more appealing. While today’s gas lamps are automatic, the ones along the historic route over the Charles Bridge are lit by a costumed lamplighter during the Advent season. Jan Zakovec stands over 2 meters tall and is currently the tallest lamplighter in the world. He is also the director of the “Gas Museum” in Prague. Mr. Zakovec can be observed making his rounds in historic New Republic costume each evening during Advent. He loves to engage tourists and locals and bestow his wealth of knowledge of gas lamps and their history while pausing frequently for pictures. Zakovec is especially proud of the superior light and beautification that gas lamps provide when compared to the new fangled LED posts flooding the streets with cold and sterile illumination.
No other time of year bears stronger symbolism to me as the lights at Christmas time. Locked in the cold, dead season of winter, far removed from the long days and peaceful evenings of the Summer months, Christmas manages to embody the battle for the human soul. While I love to celebrate the resurrection at Easter, there’s something about the unlikely light coming into our dark and hopeless world that stirs me deeply. The light has come that we need no longer fear darkness nor what lurks beyond, because our beyond is already fixed.
