Consider these halls decked: The house with one MILLION Christmas lights (so how much does it cost?)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Blinding: The lights cover just about every inch of the house - including the shrubbery


It's one of the highlights of Christmas - the twinkling coloured fairy lights that adorn homes awash with the festive spirit.

But neighbours of this family must be considering investing in black-out blinds.

The Faucher family in Delaware have been merrily setting a neighbourhood standard for 23 years - decking their halls with an astonishing one million Christmas lights.

It's an impressive sight to say the least - and even more so when you consider what it must cost.


Lighting up the night: The Faucher family home in Delaware, where one million Christmas lights have been used to celebrate the festive season


Homeowners' website House Logic has done the maths. Assuming that each one of the one million bulbs is an average five watt C7 bulb, the cost of keeping the lights on for one hour is roughly $686 (£434).

If the Fauchers keep their display lit for four hours a night for 30 nights, that means they are racking up an astonishing bill of $82,320 (£52,076).

Which is a lot of Christmas spirit.

Of course, if the Fauchers are environmentally or economically minded they may be using LED lights - in which case, House Logic estimated their bill at a mere $10,680 (£6,756) - saving them $71,640 (£45,319) for the month.


Festive fun: Snowmen, elves, toy soldiers and candy canes join the Santas - though there does not appear to be any sign of a Nativity scene


A Disney Christmas: A brilliant Goofy has a place of honour by the front entrance to the house


Candles became important symbols of Christianity outside chuches centuries ago when Christians were persecuted for celebrating mass.

A lit candle in a window was a secret signal that a mass was taking place.

Lights were first placed on Christmas trees in Germany in the 1500s. From there the tradition of lighted trees migrated to the UK and on to North America.

But it was not until the turn of the century - and the growing use of electricity - that fairy lights began migrating beyond the tree and windows.


All I want for Christmas: The decorations feature illuminated figurines of Santa and several Disney cartoon characters on the front lawn




Winter Wonderland: Fake Christmas trees adorn the lawn


By the 1950s lights were commonly being used both inside and out, twisting along rafters and staircases, porches, balconies and roofs.

It is still a rare family who chooses to completely cover every inch of their property with hundreds of thousands of bulbs like the Fauchers, however.

And their extravagance is rewarded yearly with a crawl of traffic past their home as people come from near and far to see this colourful explosion of Christmas spirit.


source: dailymail