37th Street is a street in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, known for its many houses that are decorated with
Christmas lights
Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...
.
[ Note: This story was first published on December 12, 1999, and has been reprinted annually since then.] The tradition attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, though neighbor participation has decreased the past few years due to the original residents having moved away and more students renting homes in the neighborhood.
History
In the mid-1980s, a couple of neighbors began bridging the street with Christmas lights left by other neighbors and found at fraternity and sorority
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
houses near the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
. Soon, other neighbors followed suit. Early participant Bob Godbout recalled, "It didn't start out as Christmas lights. It started out as a wild art form and stayed that way."[
In 1993, city workers removed lights strung from city poles due to fire hazard concerns. In response, street residents turned off all lights, resulting in numerous complaints directed at the city from visitors expecting light displays. City workers returned the following day to reinstall the lights.][
]
See also
* Christmas decoration
A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastide and the greater holiday season. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Gold and silver are also very co ...
* Christmas lighting technology
Holiday lighting technology has been subject to considerable development and variation since the replacement of candles by electric lights. While originally used during the Christmas holidays as Christmas lights, modern electric light arrays hav ...
* Christmas market
A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
References
External links
Texas Less Traveled: Light Up Your Life... The Miracle of 37th Street
Video: "37th Street Lights Shining Bright"
( KTBC)
Fans of 'Stranger Things' have to check out 37th Street in Austin
KVUE
Christmas in Texas
Culture of Austin, Texas
Streets in Texas
Winter traditions
{{Austin-stub