DANVILLE — Now that we are past the winter solstice, we are officially in the season of gaining daylight again.
This is a welcome change for many Hoosiers.
"The wintertime around here, it's always gray, it's always cloudy, and it's always cold," said Stephen Bradley.
Bradley isn't just here to complain though. His family offers a solution to the darkness of winter: the Bradley Family Christmas Show.
This free light show features more than 23,000 lights and is timed to music. The Bradleys' home is in Danville, but visitors come from all over to see the show.
"This gives people a chance to come out and do something," Bradley shared. "Our lights were shining on the clouds. We've actually had people that have come to our show by following the spotlights."
The show runs through Christmas, and then his family gets started planning for their 2026 Christmas light show.
"It's all made by us, and we design all the mounts, we design everything," Bradley said. "It's a ton of work, but it's really rewarding at the same time."
Bradley explained the joy he sees when visitors enjoy the light show.
"Our favorite reactions that we get are the kids that stick their head out the sunroof, all night long," Bradley laughed. "We had a lady post on our Facebook that her teenage kids put their phones down and actually enjoyed something, and didn't look at their phones."
Dr. Lindsay Flegge, a clinical health psychologist with IU Health, spoke about the power of light in the winter.
"Light is very powerful. When it feels dark outside, we can feel dark as well," Dr. Flegge said. "We really need that light to help us."
Dr. Flegge shared that about two out of every five Americans say their mood gets worse during winter.
"It makes it harder for us to do things. We feel sluggish. We feel tired. Without that light, it's hard for us to feel that motivation, that activation to do the things we care about," Dr. Flegge continued.
"It becomes a lot easier to say, 'Oh, I'll cancel that,' or 'I'll take that off my schedule,' or 'I'm not in the mood to do that, too tired,'" Dr. Flegge explained.
We will slowly start gaining daylight again, which can be a mood-booster. Light doesn't have to be natural to have an impact.
"All light can be really helpful," Dr. Flegge said. "Think about, 'How can I be more observant of light? Can I add more candles? Can I notice the holiday lights?'"
It may be a little too early to tell much of a difference in daylight right now, but the time will begin to add quickly.
For the first full day of winter, we only gain two extra seconds of daylight.
One week from today, we will have gained an extra two minutes of daylight, and one month from today, we will have gained an extra half hour of daylight.
"Get out of the house and enjoy, enjoy the season that we love so much," encouraged Bradley.
Dr. Flegge agrees that staying active in winter can make a big difference, encouraging people to schedule activities they enjoy — whether that’s seeing friends, exercising, cooking or visiting holiday attractions.
She also recommends reframing how you view the season.
"Why don't we hold some excitement about, 'Hey, what can the season teach us? What's different about this time of year? What can we notice?'" Dr. Flegge said.
If you'd like to visit the Bradley Family Christmas Show, you can find more information about the time and location of the show here.
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