Christmas Lights.

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:33 pm

I wrote this for another thread, but as it is more appropriate to this thread I reposted it here. I hope thats okay.

Our town is turning on its Christmas lights tonight.

The town was full of stalls cooking up hotdogs and hamburgers or pizza slices or Asian foods. There were stalls full of whizzy, twizzly, twirly flashy things for the kids to wave in the dark. There were stalls selling mincepies and hot mulled wine for the adults. And other stalls selling Christmassy bits and bobs.

At 5pm there is a parade through the town. Folks dress up as Christmassy characters. In town today there was a chap dressed up as an elf sitting on a reindeer. It was one of those costumes where his top half was the elf and his bottom half was the reindeer legs, then he had fake elf legs hanging down the sides of the reindeer. Know the sort of thing I mean? He actually looked really good. Lots of people were dressed as clowns, including several people in wheelchairs. We have a shop in town where you can hire motorised wheelchairs for the day. Lots of folks rent them out and then whiz around our little shopping mall on them. They love to run over peoples toes and then yell at the people hopping in pain to get out of the way! They can be pretty lethal actually! There should be a speed limit for them in the mall! Anyway, today quite a few of them were dressed up in clown costumes too, so it was really nice to see them taking part and being nice for once!

So the parade has a horse-pulled sleigh in it with the town mayor dressed as Santa and some little christmas fairies in with him. All the characters either walk before the sleigh or behind it. We have 2 main roads in our town and they run parallel to each other as they're both for one-way traffic. So the parade walks down one road, around the corner, then back up the next road until it comes to the town green and bandstand.

Santa disembarks onto the bandstand, whilst the townsfolk mill onto the town green. The dressed up characters walk around the bandstand or amongst the townsfolk, saying Happy Christmas to them and handing out songsheets. Then the towns operatic society, all dressed in Victorian costumes, sing Christmas carols. They encourage the townsfolk to join in too and quite a few do.

Then there is a countdown, from 10 to zero, and at zero everyone cheers as the towns Christmas lights are all switched on. Then there is a beautiful fireworks display for half an hour followed by folks mingling, greeting friends, browsing the stalls, skating on the outdoor ice rink which was opened this afternoon and which will stay until after Christmas, and generally having a good time.

The bad news is that the rain will turn the town green into a mudbath and folks will be slipping and sliding their way across it all evening.

Next Saturday sees the opening of the German markets in Southampton and Winchester. They set up lots of little stalls that look like chalets made of gingerbread. They sell the most gorgeous things too. Really unusual things that you just don't usually see in this country. Southampton is the better market because it has more chalet-stalls and a wider variety of unusual things to buy. In particular, their glassware is extremely beautiful and very unusual. The food and drink are exceptionally good and the bierkellars are always packed to bursting!

In Winchester there is a smaller market but some of it spills inside Winchesters beautiful cathedral, which is always well worth a visit. Again they have an outdoor ice rink for the whole of the Christmas period. Although there are less German stalls here, none of the stunning glassware, for example, there are lots of contemporary chalet-stalls selling items made by students at Winchesters College of Art. Highly-renowned as a college, they sell hand made jewellery, clothes that the students have designed, made and had modelled in catwalk shows, artworks, etc. Because Winchester is a terribly 'posh' place, (apparently it'sthe most expensive place to live in England, outside of London!) a lot of the chalet-stalls are taken over by small companies which sell hand-made jewellery or hand-made handbags or hand-made scarves, etc. All of which are terribly beautiful but horrendously expensive! We're talking a second mortgage here just to buy a handbag!

The shops in Winchester are lovely and always worth a visit and of course, both German markets sell all that delicious food and drink and scrummy cakes too!

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:42 pm

awwwwwwwww I wanna come with you Rap!:(

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:11 pm

Odie;1264726 wrote: awwwwwwwww I wanna come with you Rap!:(

:) I bet you'd love it Odie.

I did think about taking some photos but the only camera I own is on my phone and it's stuffed full of pix of my kids and my bunnies!

I kept deleting the ones I didn't like to make room for more, but now I'm at the stage where I can't bear to part with any more photos and its really difficult to send them anywhere as I don't have bluetooth on my phone and the phone keeps messing up when I try to email them to my computer! Stupid phone! :-5

My daughter has a camera somewhere so I'll try to see if she can unearth it and take some photos.

Here are a couple of websites showing how it looks:

Southampton German Christmas Market - UK Xmas market by German Events

Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market

Click on the photo galleries. The pictures are beautiful! Enjoy!

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:16 pm

That sounds like so much fun! Our big Christmas parade was last night. I watched it on t.v.

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:21 pm

On the Southampton Christmas Market photo gallery page, click on the picture on the right-hand-side of the top row of pictures.

It is the picture labelled 'German Christmas Table-Cloths & Runners;'

If you click on it to enlarge the picture, you will see that there are lots of beautiful little German/Austrian style houses. These are incredibly beautiful and SO detailed. I have never seen anything like this before, other than at this German Christmas Market.

Anyway, they are designed to hold candles. Some have a pillar candle, others might have a couple of little votives or tea-lights. When you light the candles the flickering candlelight just pours out of the little windows in these houses and I can't begin to describe just how beautiful they look. It is such a traditional christmassy scene that it really warms your heart and makes that special christmas feeling jut wash over you! I am SO going to treat myself to one or two this year! I just love them so much!

Rapunzel · Post by **Rapunzel** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:36 pm

Peg;1264731 wrote: That sounds like so much fun! Our big Christmas parade was last night. I watched it on t.v.

It IS great. We're only a small town but everyone comes together for the turning on of the lights and despite the rain its a really fun event.

However, it is my dream/wish to see the Macy's thanksgiving parade in New York.

I have seen it on TV in films and on the internet, but I really really want to experience it in real life!

I was a child when I first visited New York and I was absolutely gobsmacked by the skyscrapers. I remember walking down a main road, 5th Avenue maybe, and holding on to my mums hand so I wouldn't trip and fall, so that I could walk along staring straight up into the sky in total amazement at the sheer unbelievable height of them! My kids are teenagers now but because we live in a small town they aren't used to anything really high and I bet they would feel that same sense of wonderment if they walked down that same road with all those skyscrapers in too! I SO wish I could take them!

I have always wanted to see all the Santas, on the street corners, ringing their bells too! I would LOVE to spend a Christmas in New York.

*strains of The Pogues can be heard in the background of this wish!* :wah::wah:

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:27 pm

Peg;1264731 wrote: That sounds like so much fun! Our big Christmas parade was last night. I watched it on t.v.

Ours was last Sunday, so I watched it on t.v. as well.

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:32 pm

Rapunzel;1264734 wrote: On the Southampton Christmas Market photo gallery page, click on the picture on the right-hand-side of the top row of pictures.

It is the picture labelled 'German Christmas Table-Cloths & Runners;'

If you click on it to enlarge the picture, you will see that there are lots of beautiful little German/Austrian style houses. These are incredibly beautiful and SO detailed. I have never seen anything like this before, other than at this German Christmas Market.

Anyway, they are designed to hold candles. Some have a pillar candle, others might have a couple of little votives or tea-lights. When you light the candles the flickering candlelight just pours out of the little windows in these houses and I can't begin to describe just how beautiful they look. It is such a traditional christmassy scene that it really warms your heart and makes that special christmas feeling jut wash over you! I am SO going to treat myself to one or two this year! I just love them so much!

I love these towns, we have to drive quite a ways to see one all lite up with Christmas everywhere.

They look really pretty!

I have a Christmas village with lamp posts that light up and each house and church lites up, plus the trees....then there are people walking around and some skating on the ice...I use cotton rolls and set up everything on that as it looks like snow.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:27 pm

I'll have to upload some pics of out local Ogelbay Festival of Lights. Buses come from all over the U.S. and Canada to see them. I am only half an hour away, but only went once. I can't stand the traffic.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:35 pm

Just a small sample of their displays.

Attached files

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:42 pm

Peg;1264771 wrote: Just a small sample of their displays.

stunning Peg!

I love the fisherman!:guitarist

FUBAR · Post by **FUBAR** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 4:26 am

Visited the parents outside Toronto a few years ago at Christmas and drove around showing the kids the lights in peoples houses. They thought they were great compared to here in the UK, some of them were really amazing. Much more thought and effort than here even for the town lights. Of course the electricity bill here would be enormous just for the lights on your house. There is also the fact that the lights look better in the snow than with rain dripping off them......:-1

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:05 am

Sounds lovely!

Years ago, while I lived in Germany, I had the pleasure of visiting a kris kindle mart. The weather was cold and snow and ice coverd the ground, but I had a great time. I did buy some nice craft items, like a little wooden nativity scene.

_________________________________________________________________

Many who travel to Germany do so during the warm months of summer, but there are special treats available for those who come during the off-season. Christmas in Germany is a magical time and there are all sorts of experiences you can have that summer tourists will miss.

Throughout the country, Christmas marketsâ€”sometimes known as Kris Kringle martsâ€”begin opening during the last week of November. It doesnâ€™t matter where you are; in villages, towns, and cities, there is almost always at least one Kris Kringle Mart. Itâ€™s in these markets that you can find some of the most authentic German goods, because they are all hand-made. Each of the stalls in a Kris Kringle Mart offers different thingsâ€”from delicious baked goods, to toys, to fine leatherwork. By Christmas Eve, most markets will have closed down, and a few will close earlier.

The history and traditions of Christmas in Germany is quite interesting. The name we often use for Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, originally evolved out of the word Christkindl, or â€œChrist Child.â€ Additionally, we derive all manner of Christmas traditions from the German culture. The Adventskalender, those festive looking calendars featuring a 24 day count up to Christmas disguised as windows and doors, was originally created by the Germans. As one of the Christmas customs Germany, candles or chocolates will be placed inside the paper windows as treats for children prior to Christmas.

Music is central to Christmas in Germany as well and a few of our more popular holiday songs originate from Germany. The most famous of these is Silent Night, having been translated into 44 different languages.

And of course no German Christmas would be complete without a tree. The tradition of decorating the tree extends far back in German history and even includes a twist. Traditionally, the Christmas customs Germany dictate that the tree is presented to those assembled prior to the Christmas meal. However, children are not allowed to see the tree before then. Often times, the children will be sent off to be occupied while the parents decorate it with lights, ornaments, and cookies. Presents are placed beneath the boughs of the tree and when the time is right, the children are brought back in the room to sing carols and open gifts. The secrecy of some of the Christmas customs Germany greatly enhances the holiday for both the children and the adults. As a result, thereâ€™s little reason to wonder why Christmas is such a prominent holiday.

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Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:43 am

FUBAR;1264817 wrote: Visited the parents outside Toronto a few years ago at Christmas and drove around showing the kids the lights in peoples houses. They thought they were great compared to here in the UK, some of them were really amazing. Much more thought and effort than here even for the town lights. Of course the electricity bill here would be enormous just for the lights on your house. There is also the fact that the lights look better in the snow than with rain dripping off them......:-1

you could have come and visited Odie!:sneaky:

Most here do put on a great show!:guitarist:guitarist

and it does help with snow!:wah: