Christmas Lights

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I live in one side of a duplex. I own it. I do not rent it. The guy who lives in the other side owns his side too. He has always been the perfect, quiet neighbor until his door slamming girlfriend moved in with him. The problem is they hung Christmas lights all over the front of the house and the bushes etc. I HATE them. I am not a Christian, I do not celebrate Christmas. I dislike the whole season. This is the first year in six years of being neighbors this has happened. I understand we share the facade and one wall of the house, but I feel like they should not force their holiday on to me.

Should I just take them down, or avoid the front of my house for a month?

Don't be such a Grinch.

It makes them happy. It makes people passing by feel happy.

You might politely suggest that in future they don't put things on your property without asking first.

If you both share the duplex, then he should have asked you first if it was okay for him to put up those decorations. If they bother you that much, then you probably should talk with him about taking them down. Granted, he might think that you're some kind of Grinch ( ) or something, but if you explain to him the reasons why you don't want the decorations up, then he might be a little more understanding.

They make me very upset. I don't care if passersby are happy or not.

The problem is that I am very afraid of confrontation. I've written a letter to him, but I know he will just think I am over reacting, but this really bothers me.

oh well.

Why are you upset? If Chinese want to let off fireworks on Chinese New Year then good for them. I am not going to complain about the noise.

If the Irish want a St Patrick's day parade then so what? I even grit my teeth and ignore the "gay pride" parades.

When I was a kid and there was a Polish wedding they drove around honking their car horns.
Annoying? Yes. But it makes them happy and it is part of their culture.

Look through your window; enjoy the view as you normally do.
Observe all that is beautiful and inspiring; be grateful in this season.
Now go make a nice warm cup of coffee with a little brandy; tis the season.
After enjoying a bit of relaxing and reflection on your neighbors point of view,
Go take another look through the window, with gratitude for the spirit of giving.
Chances are that he is being inwardly generous by providing that receptacle.
So do the green thing, as in; extension cord to charge your cell phone.
You and your neighbor will both be there long after the Ho Ho.

I love Christmas lights. They cheer me up. Thank you for reminding me to add something to my list.

All of those things lasted one night. Christmas lasts over a month.

I also hate christmas. I hate the lights, the songs, everything. Being someone who isn't good at confrontation, I would just hang a blanket over the windows to block out the lights and hurry into the house when I am out front.

But do you think that the whole world should conform to your wishes?

If I hate the color pink or country and western music should I demand that they be totally banned just to please me?

That's how things work in today's American society with our sensitive political correctness. Retail workers are taught to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" unless the customer says Christmas 1st because it could be viewed as offensive to people who aren't Catholic

I don't like X'mas lights either. They are a waste of money. They use a lot of extra electricity & the waste the bulbs & cords leave in the landfill are very bad for the environment as well. The lights are very distracting; sometimes animals get hurt because they get blinded of confused by em. The blinking/flashing may even occasionally trigger seizures for people with epilepsy. I'm proablly one of the posters on WP with the most legitimate reasons not to like those lights. I have a rare vision disorder & I am very sensitive to lighting conditions; I see better in low light. Bright or flashing lights can really mess with it. My mom usually puts a few lights & things on the front porch & the light shinning true my window make it hard for me to sleep; she usually puts em on a timer thou.. My mom calls me a scrooge too this time of year because I don't like holidays. They are waaay to commercial; that spirit went to hell a long time ago. I worked at WalMart doing floor-cleaning for about 25months; 3 Christmases. I'm also a Secular Humanist.
hyperbole~ You could try giving him a good logical rezone as to why you don't want the lights up instead of your personal beliefs about the holidays. If there's windows on that side of the house; you could say that the lights are making it difficult for you to sleep or you might could say that the lights make it hard for you to see at night when you are getting in & out of your driveway & you don't feel safe.

Last edited by nick007 on 29 Nov 2010, 7:22 am, edited 4 times in total.

I seriously doubt, that they're trying to force their holiday onto you. They're not making you sing the carols, pray, buy them presents or anything. They're just celebrating, and are not trying to convert you any more than a church is trying to convert you merely by its presence. They might not even be Christians - I'm not, but I'm still enjoying the holiday. (:

They could of course have asked you, which would seem only fair, but perhaps they didn't think you'd be one to hinder them in enjoying their holiday. Perhaps they though of you as a nice, tolerant person.

Who puts lights on someone elses house?
It is your house. If you don't want lights up you shouldn't have them up.
Your neighbor is rude.

They should have hung them on their side and if I were you, I would complain to them or else you will take them down on your side.

I am upset because he put them on MY property. I don't care what he does to his property, but he has no right to assume I want some tasteless, garish lights on my house / bushes.

I don't care much for Christmas lights nor the decorations but I love electric candlesticks.
Got one in my window all year long, never take it down. It's the most cozy light source ever created.

Last edited by SoulcakeDuck on 29 Nov 2010, 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.