One great Christmas tradition that I've continued from my childhood is driving around Northeastern Pennsylvania looking at the lights and decorations on houses. For the last two decades I have mostly been the one doing the driving. In recent years I've noticed a gradual diminution in both the number of houses that are decorated and the elaborateness of the decorations. Both of these are reflections of the downturn in the economy and the changing population of NEPA - or, in many cases, the reduced population, as many of the undecorated houses are in fact empty, abandoned houses. (To get a sense of this, drive around in the post-twilight hours in the winter, when it's dark enough to have lights on in a house but too early for all the residents to be in bed, and see how many houses show no lights of any kind, not even the ghostly blue flicker of televisions.)
Still, if you look hard enough you will find some houses that decorate elaborately for Christmas. We've featured some houses in Scranton on these pages before. Anyone going through the Nay Aug Christmas Lights display in Scranton this year (highly recommended, and much better than when I went through a few years ago) will see these houses outshining the public display. Many residents of Scranton and the surrounding areas are familiar with the holiday alley just off Moosic Street, an entire alley decked out in Christmas displays. The house above is not part of that alley, but I was guided to it by a friend who had us drive through the alley, make a right, and then a left. Fortunately I keep a camera and a tripod in the car at all times for just such a situation.
There's still time to cruise through NEPA and see the Christmas lights. If you get a chance, go out and see them before they get taken down and placed in storage for another eleven months! And merry Christmas to you all from NEPA Blogs!
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