Clear Lake Forest
Luminary History

Our Luminary Christmas Eve tradition in Clear Lake Forest dates back to the 1968 Apollo 8 mission. During that mission, our neighbors Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr. and William Anders orbited around the dark side of the moon on Christmas Eve. There were fears about their safety and as a symbol for guiding the Apollo team back home, luminaries were set out all over our area. And the tradition continues 50+ years later...astronauts on the International Space Station can see the luminaries from 250 miles above as a reminder of home.

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Our thanks go out to our very own Anna Loe who did the research on our neighborhood and found out that Barbara Buckert started the CLF tradition of lighting luminaries on Christmas Eve. This was also happening in Timber Cove as a way for early astronauts to “see their homes from space” on Christmas Eve. In CLF, block captains collected money and delivered the luminaries. On average, about 85% of homes in CLF would participate in luminary lighting until the 1990’s. This drew large numbers of cars and pedestrians from all over Southeast Houston to admire the lights.

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In recent years, our local scout troop, led by John Serow, sold luminaries as their fundraiser.   This year our CLFCA HOA  Luminary Committee led by Susan Serow has taken the reigns to continue this tradition and the proceeds will be going to renovate the interior of our Community Building (Scout Hut).​

Thank you for keeping our annual tradition alive!