Monaco’s City Hall recently addressed the population’s surprise when Christmas lights began being installed all over Monaco in early October. Halloween is still weeks away and yet, Christmas decor is already being strung up? But not without a good reason…
“Is this really the installation of Christmas lights that we see in the streets of the Principality? Every year in October, the population is always surprised. Indeed, installing Christmas decorations is a major event, requiring meticulous work on the part of the electricians of the City’s Animation Service… and this year is no exception!” states a recent press release by Monaco’s City Hall.
A whopping 87 cross-patterns, 410 patterns on candelabras and 25 scenes are on this holiday’s to-do list for workers, “To bring magic and wonder to the end of the year”. A workload of that scale requires early planning and preparation.
Christmas light installation began last week, thanks to a collaboration between electricians from the City’s Animation Service and the companies Leblanc Illuminations and Blachère Illuminations, who ensured that everything was ready on time.
Like every year, every single district in the Principality will be illuminated, whether with patterns or scenes integrating luminous ceilings and even floor decorations.
Christmas lights can be admired at Parc Princesse Antoinette from 4 p.m. until the Park closes at 6 p.m. However, the public will have to wait until the end of November to witness the streets and squares fully adorned with Christmas decorations. The official lighting ceremony for Monaco is scheduled for 30 November 2024, from the Place du Palais Princier.
The custom of street lights symbolizing Christmas goes back to when Christmas trees were decorated with candles. Christmas trees displayed in public began being illuminated with electric lights in the early 20th century. By the mid-20th century, Christmas decorations were detached from trees and it became customary to display strings of electric lights along streets and buildings.
