German House Sparkles with 400,000 Christmas Lights

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SCRIPT :

The three wise men may have followed a single star to Bethlehem, but in Calle, Germany, visitors are guided to one house by a whole lot more: over 400,000 twinkling lights adorn the house, garden, trees and fences of one privately-owned residence. Homeowner Rolf Vogt’s land has become a well-known site for tourists in the festive season after he gained inspiration from a trip to America 15 years ago. SOUNDBITE: Rolf Vogt, homeowner, saying (German): “The idea comes from the year 1999. We were in America in December with our son and spent a whole night going round — about eight hours — and looked at the houses. There was one more beautiful than the others, and from that came the idea to go straight to Wal-Mart. We packed two travel bags full of lights and came back.” Despite beginning with far fewer lights, visitors started seeking out the “Christmas house” from its very inception, even though Vogt said the family had originally only put up the display for their own pleasure. Selling wine and sausages to viewers goes towards funding the lights for Vogt and his family, who pay thousands of euros to keep the place aglow, switching on from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., from late November until late December. The display is not just a Christmas project but occupies them year-round, with Vogt cuttting down the shrubs and lilacs at the end of July to gradually make room for the lights.