Images and Impressions by Samuel Todd Woodbury: Christmas Lights and Winter Magic

Christmas lights and decorations have always fascinated me, whether it be candles illuminating a wooden nativity scene or the latest LED lights on a Christmas tree. When I was in Spokane for a few days earlier this month, the Davenport Hotel's Christmas Tree Elegance displayed twelve exquisitely decorated trees with different themes; one featured old clocks while another had a Venetian theme with masks, while a third featured pieces of music intertwined with Christmas lights. The lobby of the hotel was also covered with bows and was dominated by a huge tree. Other parts of downtown Spokane were decorated for Christmas, including the Macy's stain glass window. A huge Christmas tree in the Rivepark Square stood next to the long line of kids waiting to see Santa Clause. Riverfront Park had a display of lights that depicted safari animals, trains, and other typical Christmas characters. I didn't see anything quite like the window display at the Crescent from when I was a child, but nonetheless there were plenty of decorations. Also, two giant brick smoke stacks of a now defunct steam plant built during the height of the industrial era shimmered with green and red light.

Other cities that I visited during the holiday showed extravagant decorations, including Ghent, Geraardsbergen, and Enghien in Beligum and Maastricht in the Netherlands. Typically these cities featured brightly lit shop windows and centuries old churches illuminated by sharp yellow light in contrast with grey misty skies and the early nightfall typical of the northern latitudes. We experienced our first snow this season three days after Christmas, so I had a chance to take pictures of Christmas lights encased in snow and ice. The fairy tale setting of the Parq d'Enghien in Belgium featured a beautiful palace surrounded by forests and rose gardens covered by newly fallen snow. The steady snowfall and the dark forests illuminated by yellow floodlights and quaint lampposts were as impressive as the Christmas decorations. One image that especially captured the gaiety of the holiday season was a snow covered statue in a forest, illuminated by the yellow light of a nearby palace. After the snow finally stopped, the cold December sun shone over a frozen landscape of farms, swamps, and forests. The spectacular orange and blue glow of a Christmas sunset was a fitting precursor to the dazzling lights that appeared in the evening.