Last night, the TV show 20 to 1 featured the top 20 crazy customs we keep. And one of the customs they listed was putting up Chirstmas lights on the outside of our houses!
They showed many examples of decorated houses, including the incredible displays in Deck the Halls (2006 movie) and a Chevy Chase film from the late 80s. There were also a number of interviews with celebrities about what they thought of extravagant displays of Christmas lights.
It was interesting how some people were amazed at the time and expense people went to, while others thought it was part of the magic of Christmas. There was also mention of the competitive nature of Christmas lights in some places – one person has 20 lights so their neighbour has to put up 25, and so on!
Apparently, there is one Australian town (Casino in NSW) where a particular family is not allowed to put up lights anymore – well, at least not to enter the local lights competition as no one could ever beat their display! That doesn’t seem to fit the spirit of competition or Christmas!
There was no mention of communities and neighbourhoods that work together to provide Christmas joy – streets where there is unity so families can visit a number of displays in one place.
Does your area compete over Christmas lights or work together? Do you think one way or the other gets better or more impressive light displays?
My sister had Christmas in the US one year, and she said the decorating was one of the biggest differences to Australia (other than the heat!). There were fully decorated Christmas trees in every room, including the toile!
our christmas lights this year would be made up from light emitting diodes which does not generates so much heat
I love looking at the Christmas lights and for me the more the better. My community does a community wide event where we light up our town square. It is beautiful! We have a huge parade to kick it off. I like working more as a community than competition. I believe when we work together we can accomplish more.
I completely agree Lisa and love seeing people and communities work together for soemthing – the resutls are so much more than what they appear.
Lighting up a town square together sounds beautiful and a lot of fun at once.