My Favorite Christmas Activity

[Furious Coder]

Actually, this is for my wife and I, becuase we make a habit of this every year around this time.

Each Christmas, usually on Christmas Eve or the day before, we'll go driving around looking for Christmas Light Displays on people's houses. We're not looking for the best, the brightest, the most thorough, or the ones that are classy and pleasant. No, we're looking for what we fondly call "Christmas Light Abortions." These are the light displays that combine every color known to man, and some known only to women with an extra gene, in the least organized, messiest way, and most apt to cause seizures in epileptics due to their off kilter blinking.

These displays are, of course, also the easiest to find, because they're all over the place. Low income neighborhoods have discordant messes, and high income areas have over the top abominations that are clearly on display only to show how much disposable cash the family has to spend on three of every available Holiday Light Display.

While I'm sure some of these houses are secular, like our own, I have to wonder why those who are religious (and statistically, there must be some) would decorate their home with such an obnoxious display of colored photons in what, to them, is a religious season? Is it just "for the kids", or is there some amount of piety that is earned by making one's house a glimmering beacon to the Almighty?

Please, share your own tales, and photos if you have them!

 

[Chimera]

Your post inspired a Google search:

http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/

Some funny pics there. "Redneck Christmas" is especially lovely.

 

[T'ai Chi]

I like donating canned food to the local church's food drive.

 

[Foster Zygote]

[Aunt Bethany]Is your house on fire, Clark?[/Aunt Bethany]

 

[joobz]

[Aunt Bethany]Is your house on fire, Clark?[/Aunt Bethany]

The little lights, they aren't twinkling.

 

[steve s]

When I was a kid there was a house up the street that used only red lights. It made the place look like a brothel. There was another house a couple of blocks over that used only alternating blue and green lights. Never could figure that one out. It was rather subdued looking, rather than festive.

Steve S.

 

[PAC]

Getting throught to Dember 26th, the best day of the year.