Rhema Christmas Lights - A Tulsa Holiday Tradition
Rhema Christmas Lights - A Tulsa, Oklahoma Holiday Tradition
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
While I was growing up, one of my favorite holiday traditions was visiting the Christmas lights at Temple Square. For years, I assumed no other display could compare to the sheer scale and care the Mormon Church brings to that annual ritual.
At least, that is, until we moved to Tulsa and discovered the Rhema Bible Training College Christmas lights.
Rhema is a charismatic Christian school founded in 1974 by Kenneth E. Hagin. Hagin’s faith journey began after what he described as a miraculous healing from a heart defect and blood disease during his teenage years. Though he would struggle with paralysis for much of his life, he went on to begin preaching in the late 1930s, eventually becoming part of the Voice of Healing Revival alongside ministers such as Oral Roberts and Gordon Lindsay.
Inspired by the idea that Christmas should visibly proclaim Christ as the Light of the World, Hagin began decorating the Rhema campus in 1982 with 60,000 lights. What started as a modest seasonal gesture quickly became a tradition. Today, the Rhema Christmas Lights span several city blocks and feature over two million lights, including a vast nativity scene, towering illuminated trees, and a bridge synchronized to music.
The event has grown thoughtfully over the years. Visitors can walk the grounds, take carriage rides, or opt for a motor tour. Everywhere you go, there’s music, warmth, and the unmistakable scent of hot chocolate and funnel cakes drifting through the cold night air.
Fish and I chose to walk the entire campus, taking our time and letting the evening unfold slowly. Even on a weeknight, the display was bustling, families bundled up, children darting between glowing arches, couples pausing for photos. The lights are on nightly from 5:30 to 11:30, beginning Thanksgiving and running through New Year’s Day.
The event is free to attend, though donations are encouraged, and it feels very much like a gift the community gives itself each year.
This one, I think, will be ours from now on.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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