When I was a kid, it was traditional to drive around Brooklyn at night (especially the Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst sections) to observe and admire the Christmas lights. The unique and dazzling displays people would ornament their houses with were a wonder to behold. However, things were simpler and more modestly presented in those distant days. Christmas ornamentation hadn’t yet taken on its allure of heightened high-tech gizmoes and gadgets which give today’s decorations its supercharged effects. Ironically, the increased Xmas technology appears to parallel the decline in yuletide decorating.
Nevertheless, the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn remains true to its tradition of marvelous and fantastic Christmas decorations. Particularly in the area of 12th Avenue between 82nd and 85th Streets and 84th Street between 10 and 13th Avenues, a virtual cynosure of pictures from an exhibition show illuminates the night. From glittering star-pattern arrangements to virtual dioramas of sparkling motion, each year these residents outdo each other (and themselves) with increasingly elaborate displays that are true works of art. So much so that the Dyker Lights (as they’re referred to) is becoming nationally and even internationally famous, attracting crowds from all over.
However, this doesn’t sit well with all residents in this relatively quiet part of town, in a less ostentatious and less merry mood as opposed to (and because of) their more brightly-adorned and joyfully popular neighbors. Car- and bus-loads of sightseers streaming through the narrow streets, along with spectators wandering across front yards and down backyards of more quiet houses in the immediate vicinity, are activities bound to dampen holiday spirits. Many heated arguments have occurred, or have been rumored to have occurred, in stark contrast to the festivities. Every year, when these Christmas artistes of wondrous lights and colors turn off their lights for another year, they find that they receive colder greetings and have fewer friends. But that’s show biz in an age desirous of the more spectacular and novel in human achievements…usually so mundane the rest of the year.
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