Cats and Glitter: christmas

Even though it's now the day after Christmas, there's a blizzard outside and everyone is pretty much stuck inside. So I figured it wouldn't be too late to post some more amazing Christmas light photos and videos. Most of these are from previous years and some you may have seen by now, but still, they are fantastic.

The Christmas illuminations found in Japan never disappoint.

Tokyo Midtown, 2009
blogs.sacbee.com

Tokyo Park, 2009
blogs.sacbee.com

Tokyo Doitsu Mara (Tokyo German Village), 2010
japandish.com

Outdoor Christmas display in Tokyo, date unknown
wallcoo.net

Tokyo Millenario, 2004
Photo by toyohara

Roppongi Hills in Minato, Tokyo, 2003
Photo by yokku

And for the tech-gurus, here's a laser tree in Tokyo from 2007. Yes. A laser Christmas tree.

Here are some nice displays in Europe.

Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens), Via del Calzaioli in Florence, Italy, 2008
Photo by sshingler

Oxford Street, The West End, London, UK, 2009
Photo by gorfor

Swarovski Christmas Tree, Zurich, Switzerland, 2010
Photo by Brett Lavender

This travel blog photo's source is TravelPod page: Almost to Ireland...

A few from Madrid, Spain...

Random Beautiful Display, Date Unknown
blog.trucco.es

Christmas Tree, by artist Ágata Ruiz de la Prada, Puerta del Sol, Madrid, 2009
Photo by Enric Archivell

And here's great video from 2008 showing many more incredible Christmas trees in Madrid, including a PACMAN Tree!!!

And now, a few nice ones from the good ol' US of A...

Seattle Center, Seattle, WA, 2009
Photo by ianimmortal>

Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 2008
Photo by Express Monorail>

Disney World, Orlando, FL, 2005
Photo by shannonpareil>

Funny Santa House in the Canals, Long Beach, CA, 2004
Photo by Malingering>

Part of Outdoor Light Display at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, 2009
thephotogardenbee.com

Fountains at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, Date Unknown
ladyraine.wordpress.com>

And last but not least, I figured I should throw in an appropriate cat video.

My boyfriend just doesn't understand why I love Christmas so much. To him, it's a "Hallmark" holiday - stressful, annoying, and mostly about consumerism. Of course, he enjoys seeing family, eating a yummy meal, and drinking to his heart's content. But he just doesn't view Christmas as glamorous, like I do. Maybe our differing views on Christmas are due to the fact that he's Catholic and I'm a Jew? Haha...yeah that's probably it. For me, it is exciting and flashy and fun, full of parties, sparkly decorations, and eggnog (which, ironically, I think is extremely tasty while his family won't touch the stuff). It is something amazing that I saw many other kids getting to do, but I wasn't able to experience. And maybe that's just it...I guess the whole idea of Christmas becomes less glamorous when you experience it year after year.

You see, when I was growing up, Christmas was kinda like Columbus Day; you get off from school but there's nothing to really celebrate, so you watch TV and order in Chinese. But now that I am dating a non-Jew, I can finally join in on all of the fun that I missed out on! - minus the whole going to church thing (and hopefully without being ex-communicated from my people!). I know that's totally NOT the point of Christmas...but really, what kid fantasizes about going to church (or synagogue for that matter)?

Above all else, my favorite part of Christmas has always been the lights. And although I never had the opportunity to hang up any lights of my own as a kid, my parents still took my sister and I out for nightime car rides in search of fantastic light displays throughout the neighborhood. Although they said it was just for us, I know they wanted to see them just as much as we did.

But without further ado, here are some of my favorite Christmas light displays of 2008 (and maybe 1 or 2 from previous years) as posted on this lil' thing we call the internet:

La Casa Di Babbo Natale - Melegnano, Milan, Italy
www.lacasadibabbonatale.com