One Man's Treasure is Another Man's Trash

A PS family has been decorating their property extensively for 20 consecutive holiday years; this year, however, there have been complaints about the holiday display, so it is being discontinued. Granted, the man's sister and co-sponsor recently died, which has hampered his efforts to complete the display and pay the cost of lighting it, but more importantly, his neighbors complained about the lights, the increased vehicle traffic, and the fact that his displays are mostly made from recycled trash, not at all what "they" want representing their neighborhood.

Huh. The guy is a Muslim celebrating a Christian holiday; he's a responsible recycler in this age of green; and he's been doing this display for 20 years, far longer than most of his neighbors have owned their homes. Seems like there is a new neighbor, one who has a different perspective on what the neighborhood is and what best represents it to the community. It's sad to me that the new neighbor gets his way, while the rest of the community is denied their long-standing tradition.

Lots of bloggers at the on-line site, most of whom lament the loss of this cultural tradition. Addressing the issue of the constant stream of vehicles coming by to see the display, one blogger said it's been a family tradition for him for all 20 years. He will miss the display himself, but also sharing it with his children, who enjoy it the same way he did when he was a child. As he so succinctly put it, "Get over yourself" and let other people enjoy this special annual holiday celebration that is as diverse as the neighborhood in which it resides.

I guess it's not mean-spirited, just ... practical ... to let some traditions fade into a memory, but I'm not sure what kind of annoyance an annual holiday display was causing that results in its being shut down. Sometimes, we don't know what we have until we no longer have it. I hope the neighbor enjoys his peace and quiet this year.