Folks in the Severinsen Street neighborhood have been lighting
up the holidays in Hollister for a decade now.
Folks in the Severinsen Street neighborhood have been lighting up the holidays in Hollister for a decade now.
Take a drive down Severinsen tonight and you’ll find lawns covered with life-size Santas, snowmen, reindeer and Nativity scenes – all glowing with Christmas cheer. Bright holiday lights twinkle from the eaves of the houses and nearly everywhere else that an electrical cord can reach.
It’s a lot of work to decorate a home on that scale and it’s not an inexpensive undertaking. There’s the up-front investment in creating those colorfully lit Christmas scenes and then there’s the matter of the PG&E bill that’s soon going to be coming due. Most neighborhood residents involved in the tradition say they spend several hundred dollars a year on decorations and a like amount paying their electric bill.
Of course, Severinsen isn’t the only street in town where residents decorate on a big scale this time of year. But over the years the neighborhood has more or less set the local standard. It’s a nice gift to the community. Families from all over town have made a nighttime drive down Severinsen Street a part of their own holiday traditions.
But what we really like best about this holiday tradition is that it helps bring the neighborhood together. The folks on Severinsen don’t just plug in the outdoor lights and retreat into their living rooms. They get together for a big block party and celebrate not only the holidays but their neighborhood as well. And it’s something they do on the Fourth of July and at Halloween too.
Strong neighborhoods are the foundation of a healthy community. Neighborhoods where residents get to know one another, where they regularly engage socially and share traditions are places where community is built. Such places foster a sense of belonging and pride.
Since people who know each other tend to watch out for and help one another, such neighborhoods generally experience lower crime levels. And when people take pride in their homes and their neighborhoods as a whole, property values remain strong.
We’re not suggesting that every neighborhood in Hollister should try to turn itself into a Christmas wonderland. But we do hope that people will find ways to get to know their neighbors a little better and that all neighborhoods will become places that foster a sense of belonging and pride among residents.
