Bright illusion

 This year, our online Advent calendar has a Nordic theme, so we're particularly aware of Santa Lucia Day. 

So, yesterday evening, after my daily drop-in to visit Demeter, I decided to make my way deeply into darkened Fairfield, the sun having vanished by 4:20.  

The further south and east I ventured, the thicker the illuminations, bright arteries of colour spreading out of both sides of Linden Avenue.

A fashion this year appears to be multicoloured nets of bulbs, draped over shrubbery, or the sides of porches.  Others have taken long strands of lights and wrapped them several times about bushes.

As I passed one house, I seemed to see an animation at the top of a side entrance -- a man of dots of light, rather like the final moments of Peter Gabriel's famous 1986 video of the song "Sledgehammer":

 

I soon realized it was someone hanging a criss-cross mesh of lights up, the colours following the contours and extremities of his body as he reached for the hooks.

After pausing at the intersection where Linden meets Chapman, I turned further east, passing simpler strings and angles.

Looping homeward, I encountered explosions of decorating dynamite. Here cars were stopping -- headlights, unfortunately, left on high-beam -- and children, barely tall enough to make a sillhouette, chattered excitedly and gazed.

Dazzled, I returned to the relative dark of Fairfield Road, where I was cheered to see our single string dangling above the patio.