This is our third year of running a computer controlled light show and we’ve nearly doubled the size of the show for 2008. This year our display will include over 40,000 lights, 40 strobe lights, a few virtual snow machines, a virtual Santa Claus, red and green flood backdrops, a ‘mini-mega tree’, video synchronization, and a couple of very cool LED scanners. Oh yeah, and don’t forget that Santa will make live appearances as we get closer to the big day!

Last year was the first time we tried running two houses synchronized together and this year… we have three! With 80 channels of animation and a couple hundred feet of cat5 - this will be fantastic!

This year we are partnering with the Hilltop Church HOPE BANK by collecting donations of clothing and non-perishable food items that will help some local families have a brighter holiday. If you enjoy the lights, please consider making a donation and leaving it in the red collection bin at the front of the display.

The show is synchronized to a variety of unique holiday tunes and can be heard by tuning your car stereo to 107.3 FM.

We’ve also taken on a sponsor this year to help with installation of some of the more difficult aspects of our display and allow us to continue to grow while supporting local charities like the HOPE BANK. If you want to make your holiday season a little less hectic, please consider contacting Firehouse Christmas Lighting to install your Christmas lights. They can even build you a computer controlled Christmas light display just like ours!

Happy Holidays!

Sponsored by Firehouse Christmas Lighting

Thanks Andrea!

1. “What’s This” - From Nightmare Before Christmas
   This is the Fall Out Boy version that was on the remastered soundtrack bonus disc. I’ve ripped the movie in and removed the original version, then re-synced the video to this version of the song. The synced video will run in the window.
2. Clip from the movie Deck the Halls (“I Want My House to be Seen From Space”)
3. “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” (Twisted Sister Version, edited by yours truely)
4. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Mariah Carey)
5. “Jingle Bells” (Michael W. Smith)
6. Clip from the move Deck the Halls (“I Might Need a Fire Extinguisher”)
7. “Silent Night” (Sinead O’Connor)
8. “Wizards in Winter” (Transiberian Orchestra)
9. “Siberian Sleigh Ride” (Transiberian Orchestra)
10. “Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (not sure who the band is, but sounds like Blink182)

Don’t fret, though - Santa will still be in the window making his final preparations whenever there isn’t a movie clip playing. Let me know what you think!

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention-and gifts-on their children without appearing to “spoil” them.

As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city’s first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving’s mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving’s fictitious celebrants enjoyed “ancient customs,” including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving’s book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended – in fact, many historians say that Irving’s account actually “invented” tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.

“hi There, I’m Wendy Eggers, the singer of “Queen Of The Winter Night” - I’m so happy that you guys like this track, it was SO much fun to record with TSO! “

Queen of the Winter Night is one of the songs that was in last years show - from the TSO album The Lost Christmas Eve. Wendy is a voice teacher in NYC who tours with TSO and was the vocalist on the ‘Queen of the Winter Night’ recording.

I just thought this was one of the coolest comments I’ve had yet. Makes my back ache a little less know the TSO folks are noticing the hard work.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the “lord of misrule” and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined “debt” to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.

If you’re reading this in our newsletter, you may have to visit the link on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1fQHG1gv9I