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My Memories of Christmas Town
By Carrie Springer
The annual visit to Christmas Town became a tradition in my family when my
grandmother moved to North Carolina to be near my aunt after my grandfather
passed away. From that time on, the entire family gathered in Gastonia for the
holidays.
 Grandmother delighted in the slow car tour through the quaint
little mill town of McAdenville, where every house had been passionately and
painstakingly transformed into a sparkling celebration of Christmas. We'd load
her into a van with all the children, grandchildren and eventually, the great
grandchildren, and bundle her up with blankets. Then, we would roll down all the
windows to hear the music and the sounds of laughter and delight as each gaily
lit display came into view to outshine the last.
Thermoses of hot chocolate
and bags of Christmas cookies warmed us as we pretended we were in an open
horse-drawn sleigh. One year, we were stopped by Old St. Nick himself. The Grand
Elf appeared out of nowhere, right in front of our vehicle, and we all lunged
forward with cookies flying as Uncle Bob slammed on the brakes!
Santa opened
the door and whisked our grandmother off with him on an adventure she relished
until her passing. We'll probably never know the truth of what happened with
Grandmother and Santa that night. With each subsequent telling of the story, it
grows to more fantastic proportions.
The magic of our Christmas Town
adventures lives on, even though most of us now have grandchildren of our own
who visit every year to gather their own magical memories.
***
The quiet
little town of McAdenville, N.C., comes alive in spectacular fashion each year
as Christmas draws near. The history of McAdenville Christmas Lights dates back
to 1956 when nine trees were decorated. Reaction was so favorable that the
number of trees has increased to about 400. Decorated with 450,000 red, green
and white bulbs, the trees give off a warm holiday glow to the town and
surrounding area.
Trees range in height from four feet to more than 80 feet,
and only live trees are displayed. One of the favorite spots for viewers is the
lake, near the heart of town. Seventy-five decorated trees surround the lake,
and a fountain jets water 75 feet in the air at it's center. Also, a
46-by-26-foot lighted image portrays Old Man Winter blowing snowflakes across
the lake.
A life-size nativity scene is located about midway through
Christmas Town.
This year marks the 49th anniversary of the light pageantry
and tradition. Literally millions of people have viewed the light fantasy during
its 48 years of existence. The lights glow nightly, December 1-26. Hours are:
Monday-Friday, 5:30-9:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 5:30-11 pm. McAdenville is
located between Interstate 85 and U.S. 29/74, just west of Charlotte and east of
Gastonia.
(Photos, courtesy Steve Rankin, McAdenville, N.C.) |
