Lights Unlikely

Communities, not money, hold back the dark best

Ironically, at the darkest time of the year, we are bombarded with light. Fake light, artificial light, light of our own making. Whatever you like to call it.

We can get pretty worked up about it. Hyper commercial Christmas markets, lasers desecrating clouds, manic drone displays, massive torch parades totally disconnected from their Viking past. All of which costs money to enjoy. Give me a few local, not particularly polished, events any time. Does a much better job of warming the insides.

On this, Edinburgh comes through again. (Although its main Christmas market, crowded into the modest Prince’s Street Gardens, is the definition of overkill — like too much chocolate, it can lead to indigestion). Every year, the Indian festival of Diwali is celebrated in the original vintage bandstand (please do not replace!) The performers brave the cold in electric silk saris, the band is enthusiastic, and you’ll likely to be on chilly concrete if you want to sit down. But families are out in force, there are sparklers for everyone, and the final blast of fireworks turned the city’s edge-of-the-world medieval castle, perched high on volcanic rock, into a talisman of what the new globe could be: a celebration of differences, all in one place.

My personal favourite this year was the Flotilla of Lights (top). The wide range of boats that use the Union canal in the city centre, plus some from other canal communities, light themselves up and float lazily down the narrow, still waterway. Barge boats, power boats, small yachts, toy boats. Everyone does their own thing with their vessel and you can imagine the effect; expertly draped light strings, not so expert floodlights, light curtains, random ornaments, streamers. Many included singers, players, dancers.

One grand entry sported a model of the Falkirk Wheel, that icon of Scottish history melded to modern engineering, artfully outlined in light. Fittingly, it won in the “Best Boat” category. (Top photo)

Again, there were many families: it was delightful to see the toddlers, leaning in from the canal’s grassy edges, almost in the water it sometimes seemed, watched or held back by vigilant parents. I didn’t hear any splashes, so I assume all went well. Hardly a cell phone in sight.

The third example comes from Leith, that harbour town still emerging from its industrial past, although there is a grand new waterfront and growing connections to central Edinburgh. Leithers, in fact, are known for their heart and loyalty to their diverse, historic and eerily beautiful neighbourhood. “Light Up Leith” (lightupleith.org) begins on the first day of Advent and uses a trail of decorated windows to light a path through the growing darkness. Businesses and residents sign up for the trail, which unfolds, one new window every day, throughout Lent. Trail walkers can vote for their favourite window, and make a donation. This year, the charity is FreshStart, which collects household items to help the homeless settle into new homes and back into their community.

I could do a whole post on this, but the next two windows will have to suffice. The first, in a home decor store, features a large, hand painted Christmas tree, proclaiming ‘Fae Leith Navidad,’ a fun play on the Spanish phrase, “Feliz Navidad,” (Merry Christmas), with a Scottish twist. The owner related the history of the event: following lockdown, with people not returning to the streets in previous numbers, the trail was conceived as a way to get residents back walking the neighbourhood

The next says a lot more than it might seem at first. These three lights in a whisky bar window, the December 3 entry, show three, carefully twisted forms, each from a different whisky barrel “flavour”: red wine, bourbon, sherry. Dram glasses on a barrel, see? Haha!

All these holiday light displays have something in common, that’s actually not so common in major city centres any longer: individual inspiration, careful craftsmanship — and good old joy.