V is for Village

As I headed out last Friday evening to attend my village's annual tree-lighting ceremony, the village clock caught my eye. I liked how it looked so eerie in the mist and I'm pleased with how the photo turned out.

The tree lighting ceremony was well attended and was complete with an enormous tractor-driven wagon laden with people leading the crowd in Christmas songs. After the tree was lit, the wagon led a small parade of children on decorated bicycles to the wharf. All the children's bikes were lit up and below you can see the unique way they did it - on the small wagon, which was cleverly disguised, was a generator that supplied power to light up all the bikes.

Everyone followed along to see the Carol Ships go by at the river's edge. They weren't really "ships," but local boats decorated in lights.

Afterwards, I headed to the grocery store and took a few shots of the decorations in the outdoor parking area. There are lots of lights on the rooftops showing snowmen, trees, snowflakes, etc.

Finally, I wandered around a bit and found these two shop windows all trimmed for the season. Santa lounging in his swim suit is in the front window of the tanning salon, and the one with the dancing elf and Rudolph is in the window of the barber shop. I think it's great that the businesses are getting into the spirit of things. However, I am a bit disappointed that they are trying to be "politically correct" in that they don't even mention the word "Christmas."

Many people have adorned their homes with brilliant lights and some even have scenes on their front lawns of Santa, snowmen, angels, the Nativity, miniature railroads, and stars. One street away from my place, the entire neighbourhood is lit up and is in the local paper's list of places to see over the Christmas season. It's great to see so many getting into the spirit of Christmas but I do hope everyone remembers that Jesus is the true reason for the season.