Anyone who visits Shakespearelaan in Eindhoven these days will be amazed. The facades of almost all houses in this street are lit with Christmas lights. It creates a special spectacle, but for the residents it is very normal: “We received the lights when we bought the house.”
It is now very normal for a house to have lights on the facade in the dark month of December. You often see neighbors putting their homes together in the Christmas spirit. But the approach in Eindhoven’s Shakespearelaan is very special.
Almost all houses are illuminated. Attractive lights hang on the edge of the roofs on almost all facades on both sides of the street. It gives an impressive image when you enter the street.
For the residents of the street, it is only normal that the lights are hung in December. “We moved here in 2008 and got the lights,” says Roy van Gompel, laughing.
“Everyone always hangs it up neatly, people help each other.”
“Everyone always hangs it up neatly, people help each other,” says Roy about neighbors who cannot hang it up themselves. He himself is one of them. “My son hangs them up, I’m afraid of heights myself,” Roy can laugh about it.
He likes the fact that almost the entire street participates in the light decoration. “I think it’s a nice initiative and it’s a lot of fun. In general, everyone participates. We have a lot of contact with each other anyway. It sometimes takes some getting used to with expats who come to live here, but they also participate if you explain it.”
“If you come here in early December, you’ll see someone standing on a ladder every Saturday.”
Neighborhood friend Nick Nolden believes that his street is doing well by jointly decorating and lighting the houses. “I like doing things together. If you come here in early December, you will see someone standing on a ladder every Saturday and hanging up the lights.”
According to Nolden, there is no fixed moment when the first lights are hung and who gives the starting signal. But when the first ones hang, it creates a snowball effect in the street. “If my neighbor starts with the lights and the neighbor next door has a ladder, I tell them when they are finished that I would like to have the ladder. This way you keep in touch with the neighbors.”
And it creates a beautiful spectacle throughout Shakespearelaan.