Electricity is expensive - many people now immediately switch off lamps that are not urgently needed. The van Ackens in Oberhausen are completely different: they install a sea of lights and glittering chains for the Christmas season. It starts on friday.
Oberhausen (dpa/lnw) - The Santa Claus costume is ready - and 55,000 lights are installed on and in the "Christmas House": This Friday, Dirk van Acken from Oberhausen and his wife Barbara will start this year's Christmas season. Year after year, the couple decorate their house in the run-up to Christmas with countless fairy lights, glowing snowmen and little angels and play Christmas music on a continuous loop. 25 to 30 guests are expected at the season opener on Friday, as van Acken said.
The fact that electricity has become significantly more expensive does not deter the 44-year-old geriatric nurse. "Every year we are approached by so many people who want to come by. There's also an obligation. We'll keep going." In return, they lived frugally all year round, he said. In addition, this year the lights, which usually go on at 5 a.m. in the morning, will only be switched on in the afternoon. And in the evenings, the lighting should end sooner - not just after midnight.
In recent years, the house was so brightly lit that you could see it from afar in the evening. "Last year we had over 50,000 lights," says van Acken. "This year it's 55,000 or even a little more." The spouses even had the power grid in their house upgraded for all the lamps.
