The Christmas holidays are fast approaching and as soon as we finish washing the dishes from Thanksgiving dinner the Christmas decorations will start to come out. Trees will go up in living rooms, candles will find homes in windows, and the Christmas light displays will go up on the lawns of homes and businesses all over the world.

Some are classy, some are plain tacky, and other Christmas light displays show are so incredible they inspire everyone else to visit them year after year. Christians around the globe will be creating amazing Christmas light displays this year. Let’s take a look at some of the best from years past.

Shunned for acting just a bit nutty, Dominic Luberto started decorating his gigantic single-family home in Boston back in 2006. He has to get an early start, usually in October, in order to get all $10,000 worth of lights up in time for his holiday party.

His neighbors don’t necessarily enjoy the early display, but Luberto has been quoted as saying that he only wants to add beauty to life and enjoys the happy gazes of children as they pass by his monstrous creation. It may not be the biggest Christmas light display on earth, but it was definitely created with love.

On top of Nutibara Hill in Columbia you’ll find the Pueblito Paisa, which is a tiny replica of a traditional of what a traditional Paisa village would look like. Residents flock here each year to see the tiny village decorated for the Christmas holiday. There are plenty of little houses, shops, and courtyards to explore as well, giving visitors no only a chance bask in the glow of the holiday season but to explore what life is like in the country as well.

Rockefeller Center in New York City is always decked out for the holiday, but the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday snowflake display is certainly a sight to behold. The animated display incorporates over 72,000 lights and over 50 bright snowflakes.

The Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham is an incredible place to take in the sights and sounds of the holiday season.

Every year the 700 block of West 34th Street in Baltimore, Maryland breaks out the Christmas decorations and goes to town. Unofficially dubbed “Christmas Street” during the holiday season, the light display here rivals those put up by commercial groups and draws local tourists from all over the area!

Every winter the Niagara Parks light up their own Winter Wonderland with wonder and cheer at the Winter Festival of Lights. Not only will you see incredible light displays, but every Friday evening throughout the holiday season there are fireworks over the falls as well. The 2008 holiday season opened on November 8th and will run until Friday, January 2nd, 2009. Fireworks displays are at 9pm on each of the scheduled nights!

Located in British Columbia, the VanDusen Botanical Gardens host their own Festival of Lights each year as well. This year’s event will begin on December 5th and run through January 4th and includes special activities such as visits with Santa, appearances by the Scandinavian Christmas Elves, and special choir concerts. Of course, you won’t to miss the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake, which perform on the half hour, ever half hour starting at 5:30pm each evening!

Of course, determining which Christmas light displays are the best each year is really a matter of opinion. Businesses and neighbors all over the world vie for the title of “best decorated” each year and almost every display is beautiful. Enjoy the season, and the illumination, in good spirits!

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