Lights Of Albuquerque

The first Christmas lights I remember were the spikey plastic ones from the 1970s, which hurt worse than goat heads when stepped on! One year, my dad Fooj picked up two strings of old-fashioned glass outdoor lights in shades of orange, red, blue, green, and white. We stapled them around the two single garage doors and hooked them to a massive orange extension cord into the outdoor socket. We also at this point picked up a plastic-lighted Holy Family set that included Joseph, Mary, little baby Jesus, and a straw bed. My dad insisted on leaving Jesus up on the refrigerator until Xmas. The next year he bought several more strings, and we stapled them a la Clark Griswold on the roof, “Is your house on fire Clark.” Here are some of my favorite vintage lights of Albuquerque photos!

Kodak Kodachrome color film looking eastbound down Central Avenue at Christmas Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Photo Jeff Calvin - Route 66 changed from 4th Street to Central Avenue in 1937.

The luminarias display at the Hebenstreit home is the featured highlight of the Christmas Eve Luminarias Tour held annually in the Country Club District; Photographer Walter Haussamen

My new Christmas Eve tradition involves Irish coffee then midnight mass at St. John’s Episcopalian. I’m not Episcopalian, but they are so nice! They have the pipe organ, a full choir, and garlands of pine with red chili ristras, burning candles, and smoking incense, Then once all the CABQ Ride tour buses and cars and hoards of Christmas revelers are gone, I bundle up and walk my dog at 2 AM. Walking through the ABQ Country Club, it's silent, with tens of thousands of twinkling Farolitos y Luminarias. #WhyNotBoth