Who doesn’t love Christmas right? With all its lights, festivity and spirit of goodwill, fun, laughter and gift giving.
In a demonstration of all the above, there is no better place to view this than in a well-known street in Melbourne called The Boulevard in Ivanhoe East.
Here for several weeks a year leading into Christmas, queues of cars line up from all directions to enter this famous street that tops every list of Christmas lights in Melbourne list. One side of this street is closed to traffic and the other lane is kept for pedestrian use. It felt rather odd to be walking on the street in such fashion though.
There are even pedestrian crossing supervisors to direct traffic and there are food vans and paramedics on hand. Porta-loos (for able bodied and wheelchair users) and free water were also sighted at the nearby field.
There are many decorative themes that people have chosen. Some remind me of Doctor Who episodes, then there are those that remind me of Las Vegas with their grand hotels and casinos.
There are those who choose more simple decorations with themselves sitting in the living room watching TV and adding to the Christmas spirit in the street and neighbourhood - what could be more sublime than a person nonchalantly watching TV in their living room with a Christmas tree in the background seemingly oblivious to the thousands upon thousands of pairs of eyes gawking at her in her living room.
There was even one home that reminded me of a wedding - it was all done up in white - including the figures in their garden - alas these were hidden behind a hedge which I didn’t feel like intruding upon because they were having a party in their front yard.
Another house had us bursting out singing “It’s a small world after all.” Once you see it you’ll know why we did that.
Another had a Homer Simpson figure singing Christmas songs and calling out “Doh!” in the driveway.
There were the usual Santa in the chimney decoration, Santa with his troupe of reindeers, Santa on a motorbike and Santa driving a bulldozer - how quaint but also how Australian with our huge acreage of farmland necessitating heavy farm machinery to get the job done.
There were also many homes that had chosen to make the nativity scene their main decorative theme. These came in various sizes and even material. There were cut out figures and there were 3D figurines. There was one where Mary was holding baby Jesus in her arms which was almost twice life size and appeared to be made of grass.
However people chose to decorate their homes, whether simply with string of lights or with figures of some sort or other, they added to the joy and glee of young and old alike as they paraded down the street marvelling and oohing and aahhing at each one.
It is only with the generous heart and spirit and cooperation of all the households in this street that this event is possible each year - you will find it extremely hard if not impossible to get out of your driveway come 7.30PM and this lasts until at least 11:30PM each night during this period if you lived along this street.
Upon reflecting on our recent visit to this place, while it was true that some houses stood out and went all out to make theirs a grand decorative effect, even the smaller more subtle decorations along the way contributed and added to the atmosphere and the experience of The Boulevard. And this is what living in community means - each playing their part, whether big or small, and contributing to the greater picture for all to enjoy.
If you’d like to view more photos check it out here.
This piece is part of the #ChristmasInMyCity worldwide challenge. To view and read how else other people in different places around the world celebrate Christmas, you might want to check it out here: https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/World-Wide-ChristmasInMyCity-Challenge-Showcase-how-your-city/m-p/2113108
The list at the bottom of this particular post is a growing list - be sure to check back until the 15 Jan 2020 when the final one will be included - as some places celebrate Christmas on 7 Jan 2020 rather than 25 Dec 2019 this year.
#ChristmasInMyCity
MERRY CHRISTMAS:heart: