No matter where you drive in Anchorage, you will inevitably come across houses with Christmas Lights up year around. While this may seem odd to our newcomers, it really isn’t. There are a few reasons people leave lights up year around.
For several years (as early as the 70’s) the city of Anchorage has hung miniature white lights on trees, bushes and a few light posts. They also encourage residents to do the same. The lights help Anchorage by making it a brighter and safer city during the long winter months.
Another reason people leave their lights up year around may have to do with the hazards of hanging them.
We all know that Christmas is in the winter; well winter months can be just a tad challenging in Alaska. If it isn’t snowing, then it is below freezing. If you decide to hang your lights up in the snow, you must be careful when plugging them in, because snow melts and water and electricity do not mix well. I have personally been zapped and 1 year, I avoided being zapped, but the snow seeped into the plug and zapped every fuse in every strand of lights I had just finished hanging.
Some people would give up at this point, but I decided to just rest for the night and hang them the next day. The next morning I woke up and was happy to see it had stopped snowing. My joy was short lived; I opened the door and the cold air took my breath away. The temperature had dropped to single digits. I told myself I was an Alaskan (and we are tough) so I could not let the cold air stop me. I bundled myself up and hit the ladder to take down the frazzled lights. A horrible thing happened as I pulled on the strands…. they broke in pieces. It was so cold that the light strands had frozen completely solid. I took a deep breath and blew out ice fog. I then proceeded to pull off all the lights, went to the store to buy more and came home to start the whole process again.
Another lesson I learned: It is best to take the new lights out of their packaging and stretch out the light strands inside your home where it is warm. Next, you roll them up around your arm/shoulder and then go out to hang them. Trying to take the lights out of their original package in the cold air only causes frustration; as if it is too cold, they will break. The strands also do not stretch well in the cold air.
Another problem I ran into; one year I was hanging lights but only had flat staples instead of the rounded ones. I figured it would not be a problem. I was wrong; once again the cold air made the light strand brittle, so not having the extra room the rounded staples allow, made the lights break in half. I was not a happy camper.
No matter how old I get I admire the beauty of Christmas lights. This is especially true in Alaska; because I know 1st hand how challenging it can be to hang them and they truly do add brightness to our dark winter months.
Beckie Martin
For several years (as early as the 70’s) the city of Anchorage has hung miniature white lights on trees, bushes and a few light posts. They also encourage residents to do the same. The lights help Anchorage by making it a brighter and safer city during the long winter months.
Another reason people leave their lights up year around may have to do with the hazards of hanging them.
We all know that Christmas is in the winter; well winter months can be just a tad challenging in Alaska. If it isn’t snowing, then it is below freezing. If you decide to hang your lights up in the snow, you must be careful when plugging them in, because snow melts and water and electricity do not mix well. I have personally been zapped and 1 year, I avoided being zapped, but the snow seeped into the plug and zapped every fuse in every strand of lights I had just finished hanging.
Some people would give up at this point, but I decided to just rest for the night and hang them the next day. The next morning I woke up and was happy to see it had stopped snowing. My joy was short lived; I opened the door and the cold air took my breath away. The temperature had dropped to single digits. I told myself I was an Alaskan (and we are tough) so I could not let the cold air stop me. I bundled myself up and hit the ladder to take down the frazzled lights. A horrible thing happened as I pulled on the strands…. they broke in pieces. It was so cold that the light strands had frozen completely solid. I took a deep breath and blew out ice fog. I then proceeded to pull off all the lights, went to the store to buy more and came home to start the whole process again.
Another lesson I learned: It is best to take the new lights out of their packaging and stretch out the light strands inside your home where it is warm. Next, you roll them up around your arm/shoulder and then go out to hang them. Trying to take the lights out of their original package in the cold air only causes frustration; as if it is too cold, they will break. The strands also do not stretch well in the cold air.
Another problem I ran into; one year I was hanging lights but only had flat staples instead of the rounded ones. I figured it would not be a problem. I was wrong; once again the cold air made the light strand brittle, so not having the extra room the rounded staples allow, made the lights break in half. I was not a happy camper.
No matter how old I get I admire the beauty of Christmas lights. This is especially true in Alaska; because I know 1st hand how challenging it can be to hang them and they truly do add brightness to our dark winter months.
Beckie Martin
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