Hessian Christmas houses shine again
Just in time for the first weekend of Advent, many houses in Hesse are once again decorated for Christmas - some discreetly, others all the more festively. At Sascha Bärwald and Dominik Pieczko's home in Ahnatal (Kassel district) in northern Hesse, the whole house has been shining in all its glory since Monday. "Compared to last year, we've gone one better," reports Bärwald. According to him, more than 100,000 energy-saving LED lights now illuminate the property, compared to just under 85,000 lights the year before.
It all started with a single string of lights when he moved in in 2017, he explained. The Christmas collection has since grown to include various Santa Claus figures, reindeer and a sleigh. Visitors will have to do without the large inflatable Santa Claus this year - it fell victim to the stormy winter wind last year, as Bärwald regretted. The couple will continue to light up the magical lights every day from dusk until probably mid-January. At weekends, Bärwald and Pieczko will be treating onlookers to mulled wine, punch, bratwurst and chips at a stand. The proceeds will go to the Wabern animal charity.
Christian and Karl-Heinz Frost's Christmas house, which is brightly lit by around 60,000 LED lights, is located in Espenau in the district of Kassel. "We made another leap this year, in 2022 we had around 25,000 lights," said Christian Frost. This year, the decorations are themed "Wild West", with illuminated Christmas figures and snowmen as well as a saloon, a teepee, a prison and a ride-on train for younger visitors. The "Lichterzauber Espenau" runs until the end of December.
It also gets festive from the first Advent in Marburg in central Hesse: Bernd Dziehel has been decorating his house in the Waldtal district with colorful lights since the 1970s. For us, the lights are part of Christmas and we won't let that stop us," explained the Dziehel couple. The snowfall has delayed the hanging of the fairy lights somewhat, but they say that everything should be ready by Advent Sunday. Dziehel relies on energy-saving LED lights for the decorations and does not want to do without the Christmas decorations despite the additional energy costs.
The family decided to fix some damaged LED lights on their custom-made Christmas house decoration to ensure it shines brightly throughout the holiday season. Despite the high energy costs, Bernd Dziehel firmly believes in preserving his tradition of illuminating his house with energy-saving LED lights for Christmas.
Source: www.dpa.com
