{"id":2037,"date":"2022-11-26T11:58:46","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T15:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=2037"},"modified":"2022-11-26T11:58:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T15:58:49","slug":"sober-or-bright-europe-faces-holidays-during-energy-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=2037","title":{"rendered":"Sober or bright? Europe faces holidays during energy crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VERONA, Italy (AP) \u2014 Early season merrymakers sipping mulled wine and shopping for holiday decorations packed the Verona Christmas market for its inaugural weekend. But beyond the wooden market stalls, the Italian city still has not decked out its granite-clad pedestrian streets with twinkling holiday lights as officials debate how bright to make the season during an energy crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cities across Europe, officials are wrestling with a choice as\u00a0energy prices have gone up\u00a0because of\u00a0Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine: Dim Christmas lighting to send a message of energy conservation and solidarity with citizens\u00a0squeezed by higher utility bills and inflation, while protecting public coffers. Or\u00a0let the lights blaze\u00a0in a message of defiance after two years of pandemic-suppressed Christmas seasons, illuminating cities with holiday cheer that retailers hope will loosen people\u2019s purse strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they take away the lights, they might as well turn off Christmas,\u201d said Estrella Puerto, who sells traditional Spanish mantillas, or women\u2019s veils, in a small store in Granada, Spain, and says Christmas decorations draw business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fewer lights are sparkling\u00a0from the centerpiece tree at the famed Strasbourg Christmas market, which attracts 2 million people every year, as the French city seeks to\u00a0reduce public energy consumption\u00a0by 10% this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Paris to London, city officials are limiting hours of holiday illumination, and many have switched to more energy-efficient LED lights or\u00a0renewable energy sources. London\u2019s Oxford Street shopping district hopes to cut energy consumption by two-thirds by limiting the illumination of its lights to 3-11 p.m. and installing LED bulbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEcologically speaking, it\u2019s the only real solution,\u201d said Paris resident Marie Breguet, 26, as she strolled the Champs-Elysees, which is being lit up only until 11:45 p.m., instead of 2 a.m. as in Christmases past. \u201cThe war and\u00a0energy squeeze\u00a0is a reality. No one will be hurt with a little less of the illuminations this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s lights out along Budapest\u2019s Andrassy Avenue, often referred to as Hungary\u2019s Champs-Elysees, which officials decided would not be bathed in more than 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) of white lights as in years past.\u00a0Lighting also is being cut back\u00a0on city landmarks, including bridges over the Danube River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSaving on decorative lighting is about the fact that we are living in times when we need every drop of energy,\u201d said Budapest\u2019s deputy mayor, Ambrus Kiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He doesn\u2019t think economizing on lighting will dissuade tourists from coming to the city, which holds two Christmas markets that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an overblown debate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Festive lights, composed of LEDs this year, also will be dimmed from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. in the old city center of Brasov in central Romania and switched off elsewhere, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis, largely spurred by\u00a0Russia cutting off most natural gas to Europe, is sparking innovation. In the Italian mountain town of Borno, in Lombardy, cyclists will provide power to the town\u2019s Christmas tree by fueling batteries with kinetic energy. Anyone can hop on, and the faster they pedal, the brighter the lights. No holiday lighting will be put up elsewhere in town to raise awareness about energy conservation, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Italy, many cities traditionally light Christmas trees in public squares on Dec. 8, the Assumption holiday, still allowing time to come up with plans for festive street displays. Officials in the northern city of Verona are discussing limiting lighting to just a few key shopping streets and using the savings to\u00a0help needy families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Verona, the atmosphere is there anyway,\u201d said Giancarlo Peschiera, whose shop selling fur coats overlooks Verona\u2019s Piazza Bra, where officials on Saturday will light a huge shooting star arching from the Roman-era Arena amphitheater into the square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city also will put up a Christmas tree in the main piazza and a holiday cake maker has erected light-festooned trees in three other spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can do without the lights. There are the Christmas stalls, and shop windows are decked for the holidays,\u201d Peschiera said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After two Christmases under COVID-19 restrictions, some are calling \u201cbah humbug\u201d on conservation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not Christmas all year round,\u201d said Parisian Alice Betout, 39. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we just enjoy the festive season as normal, and do the (energy) savings the rest of the year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The holiday will\u00a0shine brightly in Germany, where the year-end season is a major boost to retailers and restaurants. Emergency cutbacks announced this fall specifically exempted religious lighting, \u201cin particular Christmas,\u201d even as environmental activists called for restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany yards look like something out of an American Christmas film,\u201d grumbled Environmental Action Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Spain, the northwestern port city of Vigo is not letting the energy crisis get in the way of its tradition of staging the country\u2019s most extravagant Christmas light display. Ahead of other cities, Vigo switched on the light show Nov. 19 in what has become a significant tourist attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the central government urging cities to reduce illuminations, this year\u2019s installation is made up of 11 million LED lights across more than 400 streets \u2014 30 more than last year and far more than any other Spanish city. In a small contribution to energy savings, they will remain on for one hour less each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lights are Mayor Abel Caballero\u2019s pet project. \u201cIf we didn\u2019t celebrate Christmas, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caballero says the economic return is vital, both for commerce and for businesses in Vigo. Hotels in the city and the surrounding area were completely full for the launch of the lighting and are expected to be close to 100% every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s Christmas markets have crunched numbers that could make any lighting Grinch\u2019s heart grow at least three sizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market exhibitor\u2019s association said a family Christmas market visit consumes less energy than staying home. A family of four spending an hour to cook dinner on an electric stove, streaming a two-hour film, running a video console and lighting the kids\u2019 rooms would use 0.711 kilowatt-hour per person vs. 0.1 to 0.2 kilowatt-hour per person to stroll a Christmas market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf people stay at home, they don\u2019t sit in the corner in the dark,\u201d said Frank Hakelberg, managing director of the German Showmen\u2019s Association. \u201cThe couch potatoes use more energy than when they are out at a Christmas market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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