Holiday Lights Sparkle In Hicksville
One of my favorite parts about the holiday season is enjoying the light displays that catch my eye as I drive through the neighborhoods at night. Whether it’s something unusual, like a brightly lit poinsettia on the front of a home, or a jolly illuminated inflatable snowman in the center of someone’s lawn, it always brings me back to the days of my youth, when my husband (then boyfriend) and I used to travel the neighborhoods in search of the perfectly lit home.
When we were first dating, my husband and I used to frequent the home of Mr. Herder, who lived on the outskirts of Plainview, almost where Hicksville and Plainview meet. Every square inch of his property was lit, with vintage molded choir singers and flocked penguins who spun around on a makeshift lake of “ice.” It takes a special kind of person to put together such an elaborate display; we visited yearly, and always got a kick out of finding the newest addition to Mr. Herder’s collection.
What made the display all the nicer was the fact that he had been collecting for the American Cancer Society. My husband and I always made sure that we had some cash to toss into the collection plate, before taking a proffered candy cane at the doorstep and heading out to find another display. Once we moved to Hicksville, we found a similarly decorated house that was a few blocks from our home. Santa used to arrive there a few weeks before Christmas; we took our daughter to see him, which was a real treat. I believe they even had raffles for charity, and gave out hot chocolate on those chilly December nights. It was wonderful.
These days, we still find time to scour the blocks in search of sparkling light displays. Our home is one of those that shimmer in the dark; my husband gets great satisfaction from decorating all the windows and doorways, as well as the lawn. At one time, we used to set up the wooden deer and sleigh that he had crafted out of wood, along with two inflatable puppies that held stockings in their mouths. We’ve scaled back since then, but we still enjoy decorating for the holiday; every single room in our house has a bit of holiday cheer!
Now that we’re finished with decorating and sending out Christmas cards, we’ll have the time to head out into the neighborhood to look for all of the homes that are decorated in their holiday finery. We’ll turn on the Christmas station and listen to Bing Crosby crooning about a “White Christmas”. If we’re really lucky, perhaps we’ll catch a glimpse of a flurry or two, coasting past our windshield.
When I was a little girl, I always used to count the houses with the menorahs in the window. I always loved the electric glow of the candles; because we didn’t have one, I liked them that much more. Old habits die hard; I still find myself looking for the houses with the menorahs, and I still get a faint chill when we drive by, a feeling of wistful memory, coupled with that same feeling of warmth. It might not be showy lights or a Santa on the front lawn, but I still love to look at them, just the same. It’s a heralding in of the season of joy and celebration, and that’s what makes it all so wonderful—and it’s what makes us one and the same, regardless of what holiday we celebrate.
