About 42 years ago a good natured Christmas Light War began between two neighbors. One neighbor put up his Christmas lights and his other neighbor not to be out done put up his. The next day a little more was put up on the first neighbor’s lawn. The second neighbor, again not to be out done, put up a little more decoration in his yard. Forty two years later Ceres Christmas Tree Lane is a community tradition. Each year the opening night ceremonies (always the first Saturday in December) are conducted by the Mayor, other city officials, the guest of honor Mr. And Mrs. Claus straight from the North Pole and of course the thirty plus residents of Christmas Tree Lane who have spent in some cases more than forty hours decorating and stringing lights across rooftops and lawns for the season.
Each year it has been estimated that somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand visitors come to see the lights. Along the roughly three block stretch you will find an amazing array of creativity. Lights that dance to music, homemade displays of wood and lights strung high and low.
As a resident of Christmas Tree Lane I can truthfully attest to the number of hours it takes to put up the display. My husband spends a full week that he takes off from work each year to put up his lights. Throughout the year he makes repairs to his display pieces and builds new ones when necessary. The cost is not small either. At a minimum each year we invest in new lights to replace old ones that are broken and we incur a higher utility bill due to running upwards of ten thousand lights nightly for 20 plus days. And then when it is all over we spend a minimum of three days taking it all down and packing it back in storage.
So many times people ask us if it is worth it when they see the traffic we have to endure just to get into our drive way each night and hear about the time it takes to set up and take down. To that we say yes, it is a magical time of year for us. I enjoy looking out my window in the evening seeing the lights and the cars that drive by and sometimes the horse drawn hay wagon. I enjoy hearing the children laugh and exclaim their delight in seeing the light show. I enjoy greeting the family and friends who stop by to see the lights. To me all of the work was worth the effort when I watch the people walk by sipping their hot chocolate and holding the hands of their loved ones. This is what makes living on our street so extra special.
The Ceres Christmas Tree Lane opening night is December 7, 2013 at 6:00 pm. The lights will be on each night through Christmas. We hope you can enjoy the lights this season with us.
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