You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who does not associate the Christmas holiday with the twinkling, nostalgic glow of fairy lights. Since the advent of electricity decoration with light has been an important part of the holiday season. Major metropolises and small towns alike string party lights hither and yon to help spread the cheer of the season. Few cities decorate to the extent of New York City. Famed department stores such as Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue are renowned for their annual holiday window displays while the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza never fails to make international news. South St. Seaport and Bryant Plaza are just a few of the many public areas in the Big Apple which receive the holiday lighting treatment. Every December tour companies feature guided bus tours throughout Manhattan to visit the twinkling lights installed each year. You may be surprised to learn that Tokyo, Japan rivals New York City in the vastness and variety of its holiday lighting decorations. While primarily a Buddhist country Japan has a romantic attachment to the Christmas holiday. The famed Ginza street of neon grows doubly bright with the addition of hundreds of thousands of sparkling party lights each winter holiday season. Almost every store features an elaborate display of fairy lights and animated Santa Claus statues. Many are surprised that this tradition which started during the American occupation of Japan following World War II as been accepted and embraced by the Japanese people. Not to be outdone Paris, France decorates the Champs Elysees with hundreds of thousands of fairy lights during the Christmas season, allowing for 2 miles of illuminated elegance and holiday charm for Parisians to stroll along. Many coastal cities in Florida are treated to a floating parade of boats decorated with fairy lights cruising past seaside homes. And around the world many communities have neighborhood competitions to judge the best party light displays. One homeowner in Clearwater, Florida adds 10,000 lights to his home each year attracting visitors from across the southeastern United States and adding thousands of dollars to his December electricity bill! South of the border, Mexico City currently boasts the world's record for largest artificial Christmas tree for a 112 m high cone of lights erected in 2009. The tree is composed of 72 km of party lights and 600 strobe lights weighing a total of 330 tons. While Rio de Janeiro holds the record for largest floating Christmas tree a brightly decorated giant as tall as a 29 story building. The many Disney amusement parks around the world have long had a tradition of decorating their entire parks with festive lighting and Christmas themed decoration for decades now. The famed Disney electric light Parade goes through a holiday transformation each year in mid-November with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the rest of the Disney gang putting on their holiday costumes be they Santa like or in the character of Charles Dickens a Christmas story. Thousands flock to Frankfurt, Germany's Christmas market to do their holiday shopping or just to gawk at the impressive party light displays. While children in Singapore can walk inside a six-story artificial Christmas tree for a unique experience duplicated nowhere else. Even in the Middle East the Coptic Christians of Lebanon decorate Beirut with a tasteful and beautiful lighting display during December. It seems no matter where you travel during the holiday season you will find Christmas trees, party lights and Santa Claus there to amuse and entertain you. Each year it seems as though every city attempts to outdo itself with displays getting larger, brighter and more impressive so you can be assured that wherever your holiday travel takes you the sparkling glow of Christmas party lights will be there waiting for you.
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