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Stephen HumphreyStephen Humphrey is a freelance writer and journalist who has lived in Toronto since 1994...
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Christmas lights (2), holiday (3), Xmas (2)Strings of bright lights, glowing nativity scenes and kitschy items such as Homer Simpson Santa Claus statues adorn the fronts of houses to bring festive feelings to Toronto neighbourhoods.
Celebratory lighting first dates back to pagan Winter Solstice celebrations. In early Christian times a lighted candle signalled where worshippers could gather to avoid Roman persecution. The lighted Christmas tree became an established tradition under Queen Victoria in the 19th Century.
An associate of Thomas Edison invented the first electric Christmas lights, and whoever first came up with Christmas kitsch is anybody’s guess.
Christmas lights meant to be festival sometimes resemble alien landscapes, while at other times a six-year-old’s toybox on macro scale.
This gallery presents a few highlights of the Guildwood Village, an east Toronto community overlooking the Scarborough Bluffs.