Why green? Friends have asked how we came to the choice of putting only green lights on our house for the holidays. Some wonder if it is a family tradition or guess that it is because we love the outdoors, appreciate nature and value environmental protection. The Grinch is green, and though we adore that devilishly lovable Christmas cartoon character, it is not the reason. It is also not an attempt to be “Popular,” by going green like Elphaba’s skin, in “Wicked.” Here is the real story of how our green theme came to life.
The first holiday season, after moving back to Chico in 2001, we were visiting my mom in her retirement community in Sun City, Arizona. During every visit, my husband diligently tackled a list of simple repairs and house maintenance tasks, helping out my mom who lived alone. He drove to Ace Hardware to get supplies, to fulfill said repairs. On the entry table by the front door were discounted boxes of holiday lights. He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the price of just 25 cents per box. The catch was that there was only one-color option, yes you guessed it, green. We wanted lights for our new home and talked about doing all one color. Green is his favorite, so this made the decision easy. What luck! He purchased a duffle bag for $4.99 and 27 boxes of green lights for $6.75. With a grand total of just under $12, we sealed the deal on the holiday look of our house for the next 23 years and counting.
Over time, we have had to replace strands and color matching the green hue properly has been a challenge. At one point we had two hugely different tones of green which were hung in a mixed fashion. This version lasted just one year as it looked less “holiday” and more “under the sea.” We have done a better job of sticking closer to one shade of green since then. We have added lighted green trees to the front lawn, green rope lighting, green nets for shrubs and recently, an inflatable stocking cap wearing frog. Green is our color.
We get a decent number of compliments on the green lights but there is one that is especially worth sharing. I was chatting with my hairdresser about areas in town that have standout light displays. I told her my street does a really impressive job every year with the cul-de-sac at the end done in a “candy cane lane” motif along with many other festive homes. I told her to keep an eye out for our house, the one with the green lights. She stopped cutting, spun me around to look me in the eye and exclaimed, “you live in the Emerald Palace!”? She knew my street, and my house and said that ours was her family’s favorite and that they had named it the Emerald Palace because of the green lights. Wow, I could not believe it.
Historically, the origin of lights during the holiday season is said to have started in Scandinavia as a homage to Winter Solstice. Bonfires, yule logs and candles would brighten night into “day” during that dark season. Many other cultures have the belief that light represents goodness and is a way to ward off sadness during the darkness of winter. More traditional lights began as tree decorations and then made their way outdoors. I read one story about President Cleveland implementing the novel idea of electric lights on the White House tree in 1914, at a cost of $1.75 a strand- very expensive compared to our green light bargain. Nowadays, it is estimated that up to seventy percent of American households will have some kind of outdoor holiday display.
The Enterprise-Record will be publishing the annual Tour of Lights featured this weekend. The guide is broken down by sections of town and neighborhood. For those who put time and effort into their decorations, a mention in the guide is a nice reward. Our street tends to be given a vague shout out, with something like “nice displays on streets off Garner Lane.” One coveted year, our green lit house was specifically called out as one not to miss. That was fun. We get our fair share of cars and limos on light tours. We even get an occasional horse drawn wagonload of light-lookers which is extra special.
Promise yourself that sometime this month, you will enjoy the twinkling lights of the season and ward away the darkness by appreciating the work of your neighbors. It will be well worth your time to grab some hot chocolate and hop in the car. Driving around during the holidays and looking at the beautiful, creative, and colorful work of our community brings such joy. It is a gift we give each other, one strand at a time.
