Xmas lights outside people's houses

[D6975]

We've got blue icicle leds outside, don't know how much leccy they use, but I suspect it's not much being leds.

There are 2 houses close to where I live that must have their meters zinging round, It's almost like daylight on the pavement in front.

[Trainshed Terry]

Ban 'em . Xmas should be pitch dark.

 

Sorry but cancel Christmas all together.

 

Yes I am Grumpy

 

Terry

[bertiedog]

Maybe this is the source of this new "tradition": The Polar Express (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338348/ -- sorry, tried to make the film title clickable but for some reason couldn't make it work).

 

Not my cup of tea, but I can't see any qualitative difference between that commercialisation and the conversion by the Coca-Cola company of the traditional green Santa Claus into [Coca-Cola] red, a "tradition" which is now near-universal.

 

Paul

 

To put the record straight, the traditional red costumed Father Christmas was often portrayed in red garb long, long, before the days of Coca-Cola, and very definetely in the UK. The earliest I have seen is about 1799, a red caped and hooded figure from the Regency period.

 

Coloured printing started more widely in the 1880's, and by the 1890's it was common to show red clothes in book and magazine illustrations of Father Christmas.

 

The figure of Green was the Spirit of Christmas, mentioned in Charles Dickens stories, who wore a green fur trimmed cape, and was often drawn in hand coloured plates, but he was not Father Christmas.

 

Punch magazines famous endpiece Christmas Cartoon contained a picture that matched the Spirit of Christmas, but was printed in black and white. However Punch sold hand coloured prints direct to the public as well, and some are dressed in green and some are red cloaked.

 

Many Edwardian Postcards and Christmas Cards show the full red costume, as portrayed in the American artist's Coca-Cola portrayal of Santa Claus, very much in the German Christmas tradition.

 

The artist admitted that the pictures supplied to the advertising agency were based on others work, and not original work. The assumption that it was an American invention came just before WW2, from the US public, not Coca-Cola themselves.

 

Stephen.

[coachmann]

Can someone please explain why a house in Canada or the US festooned with lights looks festive but a semi in Lewisham looks like a tacky chav s**thole when covered with Chrimbo lights??????

 

Made my Christmas anyway....

[David Rickard]

I refer you to the following video:

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=8qc_RYm0ylA

 

Thus every house with lights round here is referred to as 'A Griswold House'.

 

And there's a few. And they look horrible. But meh, that's their choice!

[Colin]

Round our way, one bright spark got himself one of those huge inflatable Santas, so big it almost filled the flat part of his garage roof.

Unfortunately for him, it sprang a leak and over a few days slowly curled forwards,in the manner of a vomiting drunk ridding himself of the last few pints and curry.

 

The "Puking Santa" became something of a local landmark, and has never reappeared.

[bertiedog]

A few years ago in Rochester in Kent, people awoke to find Santa hanged from a lampost in the main high street.......a large over life sized display Santa at the Art shop, removed by Students after chuck out...and formally hung by his neck!!!!

 

They still use the Santa figure, he is chained to an upper balcony, out of easy reach these days!!!!!

 

Stephen

[Richard320]

They've started here in my village with a vengance. Those appalling, tacky santas, snowmen and all the other cr*p wasting the earth's resources on their pointless and vulgar displays.

 

I can take a few twinkly lights, even those "icicle" ones but not this tasteless tat. There must be some bye-law that can get them banned surely.

 

steve

Don't be a Grinch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfdEDzxzmyA

[60026to]

Whist I'm travelling home from work I look out for the festive houses and it makes me smile and makes the journey go quicker seeing all of the twinkley lights and displays, good on them.

[Horsetan]

Sorry but cancel Christmas all together.

 

Yes I am Grumpy ...

 

Give that man a round of applause

[Captain Kernow]

Round our way, one bright spark got himself one of those huge inflatable Santas, so big it almost filled the flat part of his garage roof.

Unfortunately for him, it sprang a leak and over a few days slowly curled forwards,in the manner of a vomiting drunk ridding himself of the last few pints and curry.

 

The "Puking Santa" became something of a local landmark, and has never reappeared.

[45156]

There's one or two round our way that are tasteless power guzzlers - luckily not in our road, so I don't need to see them when I'm walking the dog. Many houses (including mine) have a few outside lights - mine are low voltage and low power - ISTR that they are about 25 watts. They are plain white, and are wrapped round one of the trees in the front garden.

 

My inside lights are quite unusual, as they are over 50 years old (again quite low power - they are 20v and draw about 10 watts only) getting bulbs for them is getting to be very difficult now. As they are old and getting delicate (but are electrically safe as I have them PAT tested every couple of years), I only have them lit for about four hours daily anyway.

 

I've got to say that I've never been a great lover of OTT Christmas anything - lights, presents, whatever - not even a huge and totally indigestible dinner. I can remember the days when a couple of coaches, a few feet of track, or on a very good year a new loco, was all that appeared in the present pile, along with a book, selection box, and a foil wrapped tangerine. And Christmas was just as exciting as it is now for me as a kid.

 

I am not particularly religious, but it is a religious festival - although nowadays, money and commercialism is a religion in its own right, and Christmas now seems to be celebrated more by Mammon!