Locals hard at work decorating
Bogalusa resident Alton Johnson is radiating excitement, and he fits right in with his surroundings.
 Daily News photo/Marcelle Hanemann Main-Alton Johnson was bursting with the Christmas spirit this week as he decorated his Suwanee Street home and yard with some symbols of the season. Advertisement |
By night, the twinkle of stars above is met from below by the illumination of strand after strand of multi-colored lights draped across houses, bushes and businesses. By day, the festive atmosphere is enriched by mangers, ornaments and, now, inflatable snowmen, Santas and angels.
People from throughout Washington Parish regularly push away from the Thanksgiving table and immediately start thinking about Christmas. By that night, the cities, towns and countryside begin to take on their seasonal adornment. Like a house full of darkened rooms suddenly awakened by the flipping of a light switch, the parish comes to life as one after another place of work or residence offers the gift of its spirit to the community.
Johnson, of 201 Suwanee Street, has been taking part in the ritual for years. He was recently spotted positioning reindeer, angels, ribbons and lots more in his spacious front yard.
"I've been doing this every year," he said. "I have four kids, and as long as I can remember this has been instilled in me. Coming up, I used to see homes decorated and it put me in the spirit. I said if I ever have a home, I would decorate for Christmas."
Americans have been decorating the outsides of their living spaces for the holidays since long before Johnson was an impressionable youth. The first illuminated public Christmas trees reportedly appeared in Boston in 1912, thirty years after Thomas Edison's assistant, Edward Johnson, developed the idea of Christmas tree lights that were powered by electricity. After that, outdoor trees quickly became commonplace in this country.
In 1927, General Electric produced its first sets of outdoor Christmas light bulbs. The earliest ones were round and painted on the outside. But they soon took on the familiar flame shape, and featured scratch-proof interior paint.
For generations, multi-colored strands of the big bulbs, strung on trees and around windows and doorways, provided much of the magic of the Christmas season. In recent years, smaller lights, some in strands of a single color or in icicle shapes, and big inflatable lawn ornaments, have added their own charm.
Johnson uses a mixture. He said it's a gift to the community.
"It's not just for family, but the kids in the neighborhood," he said. "That makes it worthwhile. I see the reaction from kids in the community. And a lot of adults, too. It keeps the kid in them alive. That's the Christmas spirit."
The bump in the electricity bill is negligible, and the painted wooden angel, Santa, sleigh and reindeer, green garlands and wreaths, giant inflatable bear and snowman and other decorations are reusable, he said.
"I use the same stuff every year," said Johnson. "I just change positions. I'm sure the electricity increases a bit. But it doesn't cost enough to say I'm not going to do it. For an extra $10 or so a month, it's worth it. Kids in the neighborhood come up and ask, 'When are you going to put your decorations up?' That's what it's about-the Christmas spirit."
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