Those are the kinds of lights which blink a section at a time (a bunch of lights in a row), instead of strings in which every other or every third light flashes in a series. The only reason a whole section would go out is if the flasher (the white bulb, usually the first or last in the section) burns out, or if one bulb is missing or damaged (if one bulb is just burned out but not broken or missing, this wouldn't happen).

If you want to avoid this situation, buy light sets that are solid color sets, or non multi-flashing. In other words, all one color, or non-flashing, or sets that have all of the bulbs blink on and off together. If you aren't sure, plug a set into an outlet at the store before you buy them, and wait a minute or two to see if they flash and how they flash.

Also note that the large majority of light sets are now made in China, and many of them are coated with a light dusting of lead; therefore I would highly recommend not letting young children handle them, as well as washing your hands thoroughly after handling them yourself.

Good question and an informative answer by Tater. We don't put up Christmas lights,just a small tree with other decorations on. When i was a kid we were fasinated with the Bubble bulbs!

Tater, I have sets that aren't the blinking type, but still have sections that go out and sections that stay lit. On one set, the last third of a section is lit and the first two thirds are out.
Then, I bought a new set and when I started putting it on the tree, half went out.

Actually, ALL miniature light sets are the blinking type; even if they don't mention that fact on the box. All you need to do is take one bulb out and replace it with a flasher bulb, and bob's your uncle, there ya go. The flasher bulb basically turns the whole circuit on and off, and on and off, and on, and off....

The way it works is that the electrical current runs through each and every bulb, and if this flow gets cut off at any point, ALL of the lights in that series go out. With a flasher bulb, there is a mechanism which turns the flow on and off and on. Since all of the current flows through each bulb, it doesn't really matter which bulb you replace, any one will work.

The problem lies in the fact that any time the flow of current gets cut off, the whole series is cut off, and it's not always obvious which bulb is cutting off the flow, unless one is physically broken or missing. Note that the current will still pass through a regular (non-flasher) bulb even if it is burned out. If the problem is not obvious, chances are thatat least one bulb is either loose in it's socket, or the tiny gold colored wires from the bulb are not making contact with the socket that it's plugged in to.

There are many varieties of Christmas lights, but if you break it down by type, you can narrow it down quite a bit. They can be categorized by the number of bulbs, the number of circuits (two way flashing sets have two circuits, three way flashers have 3, etc). or whether the circuits are in line or in series (20 bulbs in a row, or every third one)

Crappy things! What happened to "simple"? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Simple still exists. Buy a candle, light it at dusk, blow it out before you go to bed. See? Simple!

a few years ago, when i was a kid, we had real candles that were lit at certain times, lovely.how ever in Oz it was mid summer and hot ! lit candles were a hazard ! so no candles for a long time, i don't particularly like electric lights .you guys across the the pond are lucky ,you can enjoy your tree any way you like , candles or electric .

REAL candles? I'd be afraid of the kids being burned or the house catching fire! How did anyone keep real candles on a tree?