Annie Walton Doyle
People are only just discovering that the red lights on Christmas trees actually have a purpose.
When it comes to Xmas, you know the internet is never short of opinions.
From when is the right time to eat your Christmas dinner, to how early is too early to put up your festive decor, to how much money you should be spending on a partner’s presents, there are some seriously divisive issues around this special time of year.
But one surprisingly controversial topic has just taken TikTok by storm.
People on the platform are discovering exactly what the purpose of the red Christmas tree lights is.
And while some are blown away, others can’t believe people hadn’t discovered this hack sooner!
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As you unpack and put up your Christmas tree lights, you may notice that there are some extra red bulbs in the package.
The lights look as though they’ve been dipped in a red film that coats about half of the bulb.
For many of us, these bulbs have long been assumed to have been spares for the set – despite the fact they don’t really match up with the others on the string.
And while you may not have given too much thought to these mysterious bulbs before, you can guarantee that TikTok has.
One TikToker has shared the secret use for these previously ignored bulbs, and it’s left the internet shocked.
TikToker @viznelly revealed the real purpose of these spare red bulbs in a video captioned: “I was today years old when I found out what these are for.”
They remove one of the regular bulbs from the string of white lights and then replace it with its red counterpart.
They then take a step back from her lights, writing: “Wait for it …”
And, sure enough, after a couple of seconds, the lights began to blink on and off, creating a pretty, twinkling effect.
@viznelly **I** didn’t know. 🤩🎄☃️ #christmas #diy #home #homedecor #christmastiktok #christmasdecor #houseoftiktok #cleantok #housework #hometiktok #holiday #tips #hacks #hacksandtips #christmastree #navidad #feliznavidad ♬ It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Bing Crosby
People in the comments section have been blown away by their discovery, with one writing: “1000% thought they were spares. I have been robbed.”
A second person says: “Not gonna lie, I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know this.”
People have also questioned why the Christmas lights’ packaging never mentioned this cool trick to create an at-home lights show.
One commenter was actively annoyed that this discovery had not been more widely publicised, writing: “As if it makes an oz of sense that putting a diff bulb in makes s*** blink!”
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However, some others say that they’ve always known about this decoration trick.
One jokes: “Watching a younger generation rediscover 50-year-old tech is the same feeling as watching grandparents try Snapchat.”
Another agrees: “As someone who grew up in the 90’s… I thought everyone knew this! We didn’t always have remote control lights!!”
While someone else questions why the bulb needed to be such an obviously different colour, writing: “The blinky lights are nice but having one red bulb would bother me!”
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