South Florida Christmas
expressing the joy of the incarnation and bringing smiles and good cheer to our fellow South Floridians
Luke 2:8-20
A note from our guest book 2011
"Thank you so much for this. My father has been sickly and we brought him to see your wonderful show and he has not stopped smiling.
bless your family. - B.M."
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Technical Stuff
"Where is the baby Jesus [in the manger scene]?"
One of the unfortunate things about the secularization and commercialization of Christmas has been the lost Christian understanding that the Christmas "season" begins, rather than ends, on Christmas Day. That is where the "Twelve Days of Christmas", popularized by the Christmas carol, comes from (leading up to the Epiphany or Three Kings Day celebrated on January 6th).
The season leading up to Christmas season/day has been called "Advent" for centuries by Christians (for a history of Christian Advent/Christmas practices, click here). Advent in the dictionary is defined as "the coming or arrival, especially of something momentous: the advent of the computer, etc.". The four (4) Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas Day/Season, are a period in which we wait in joyful hope for the day/season in which we commemorate the birth of Jesus.
But during an advent period, you are waiting on something yet to come, not something that has already happened. So during this period we choose not to put the baby Jesus in the manger scene, to commemorate in our own way our "advent" season, the anticipation of the momentous birth of God incarnate.
Beginning on Christmas Day (December 25th) and through the twelve (12) days of the Christmas Season, we'll have Jesus in the manger. This is also why our lights display runs until January 6th, the true end of the Christmas season. We hope you'll join us in keeping the JOY of Christmas season alive AFTER Christmas Day and throughout the Christmas Season.
How long does it take you to do this?
Our passion for celebrating Christmas and for sharing the joy we have in our hearts over its meaning really is a year long endeavor. We are planning almost year round, working on projects, thinking of new things to do and programming the computer. But to actually put the lights up and the display together takes about a FULL month. We start the day after Halloween and have it all ready to go the first Sunday of Advent (the first Sunday after Thanksgiving which officially begins at sundown on Saturday).
Where do you store everything?
We have a great yard for what we do. We not only have a "double" lot, but a corner lot as well, so we in essence are decorating three yards. In our back yard is a pool and a cabana or pool house. That structure has a large storage area and attic. In addition, we rent a small storage space close to the house for the bulky items (blow molds and inflatables).
RU an engineer, computer expert or do this for a living?
No engineers or computer experts in this house. If it wasn't for Light-O-Rama products, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to do any of the electronics. And I've had to do a bit of learning along the way.
How many miles/feet of extension cords do you use?
We have over 6,000 feet of extension cords in our display. Over 1 mile.
How many amps do your lights draw?
If every light was on at once, the control boxes have the ability to draw and are plugged into separate circuits for 270 amps. But one of the advantages of synchronizing your lights to music and of the Light-O-Rama control boxes is all of the lights are rarely on and if they are, it is for a brief second. You also have the ability to regulate the "intensity" of the lights. For example, you can designate a given "burn" at 80% so it would in fact only draw 216 amps with little noticeable difference in how bright the bulbs are.
How much does your power bill increase?
2008 +21% from 1,702 kWh the previous month to 2,060 kWh the first full month of the lights being on.
2009 +23% from 1,885 kWh the previous month to 2,314 kWh in December.
2010 +72% from 1,594 kWh the previous month to 2,748 kWh in December
This might be less than you expected. Another advantage of having a synchronized show to music is instead of a steady burn of the lights all night on most homes, synchronization moderates the amperage/watts used and actually conserves energy because the lights are on and off throughout the show.
How many lights in your display?
For Advent and Christmas 2010 we have approximately 45,000 lights.
How many inflatables (blow up decorations) do you have?
We will have 22 individual inflatables in our 2010 display. We have added three (3) new inflatables this year but each year we have to retire some of our oldest inflatables as well, which after years of use become very faded and failed to inflate fully.
The inflatables are controlled by the Light-O-Rama boxes as well so they may be activated at will during the day and/or during the synchronized show.
One of the unfortunate things about the secularization and commercialization of Christmas has been the lost Christian understanding that the Christmas "season" begins, rather than ends, on Christmas Day. That is where the "Twelve Days of Christmas", popularized by the Christmas carol, comes from (leading up to the Epiphany or Three Kings Day celebrated on January 6th).
The season leading up to Christmas season/day has been called "Advent" for centuries by Christians (for a history of Christian Advent/Christmas practices, click here). Advent in the dictionary is defined as "the coming or arrival, especially of something momentous: the advent of the computer, etc.". The four (4) Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas Day/Season, are a period in which we wait in joyful hope for the day/season in which we commemorate the birth of Jesus.
But during an advent period, you are waiting on something yet to come, not something that has already happened. So during this period we choose not to put the baby Jesus in the manger scene, to commemorate in our own way our "advent" season, the anticipation of the momentous birth of God incarnate.
Beginning on Christmas Day (December 25th) and through the twelve (12) days of the Christmas Season, we'll have Jesus in the manger. This is also why our lights display runs until January 6th, the true end of the Christmas season. We hope you'll join us in keeping the JOY of Christmas season alive AFTER Christmas Day and throughout the Christmas Season.
How long does it take you to do this?
Our passion for celebrating Christmas and for sharing the joy we have in our hearts over its meaning really is a year long endeavor. We are planning almost year round, working on projects, thinking of new things to do and programming the computer. But to actually put the lights up and the display together takes about a FULL month. We start the day after Halloween and have it all ready to go the first Sunday of Advent (the first Sunday after Thanksgiving which officially begins at sundown on Saturday).
Where do you store everything?
We have a great yard for what we do. We not only have a "double" lot, but a corner lot as well, so we in essence are decorating three yards. In our back yard is a pool and a cabana or pool house. That structure has a large storage area and attic. In addition, we rent a small storage space close to the house for the bulky items (blow molds and inflatables).
RU an engineer, computer expert or do this for a living?
No engineers or computer experts in this house. If it wasn't for Light-O-Rama products, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to do any of the electronics. And I've had to do a bit of learning along the way.
How many miles/feet of extension cords do you use?
We have over 6,000 feet of extension cords in our display. Over 1 mile.
How many amps do your lights draw?
If every light was on at once, the control boxes have the ability to draw and are plugged into separate circuits for 270 amps. But one of the advantages of synchronizing your lights to music and of the Light-O-Rama control boxes is all of the lights are rarely on and if they are, it is for a brief second. You also have the ability to regulate the "intensity" of the lights. For example, you can designate a given "burn" at 80% so it would in fact only draw 216 amps with little noticeable difference in how bright the bulbs are.
How much does your power bill increase?
2008 +21% from 1,702 kWh the previous month to 2,060 kWh the first full month of the lights being on.
2009 +23% from 1,885 kWh the previous month to 2,314 kWh in December.
2010 +72% from 1,594 kWh the previous month to 2,748 kWh in December
This might be less than you expected. Another advantage of having a synchronized show to music is instead of a steady burn of the lights all night on most homes, synchronization moderates the amperage/watts used and actually conserves energy because the lights are on and off throughout the show.
How many lights in your display?
For Advent and Christmas 2010 we have approximately 45,000 lights.
How many inflatables (blow up decorations) do you have?
We will have 22 individual inflatables in our 2010 display. We have added three (3) new inflatables this year but each year we have to retire some of our oldest inflatables as well, which after years of use become very faded and failed to inflate fully.
The inflatables are controlled by the Light-O-Rama boxes as well so they may be activated at will during the day and/or during the synchronized show.
Do you have any questions not answered here?
Don't hesitate to ask.
E-mail us at soflochristmas@comcast.net.
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