BԪַ

Skip to content

More British Columbians decorate for Halloween than Christmas, BC Hydro says

About 7% say they BԪַovertly or covertlyBԪַ compete with their neighbours for the best display
web1_201210-sul-christmas-lights-map-wishuponastar_2
FILE - The Wish Upon A Star House, located at 19367 62A Ave., wass decorated with BԪַCOVID-friendlyBԪַ displays for taking pictures in December 2020. (Lauren Collins)

A BC Hydro survey says that for the first time more British Columbians are expected to have BԪַmega displaysBԪַ for Halloween than Christmastime.

About half of British Columbians decorated their homes for Halloween this year, with about 13 per cent of those considering their outdoor décor to be a BԪַmega displayBԪַ of 10 or more strings of lights and at least one plug-in inflatable. While about half of residents said they were planning to decorate for the winter holidays, only 10 per cent were planning on a BԪַmega display.BԪַ

BC Hydro spokesperson Susie Rieder said elaborate Christmas displays account for about three per cent of the provincial electricity load during the winter holiday season, and Halloween displays are beginning to keep pace with what was once unique in the December to January period.

BԪַWhile winter holiday season decorating is still more popular, those who go all out with mega displays are favouring Halloween for the first time ever.BԪַ

The survey also noted that there is an element of BԪַkeeping up with the Joneses,BԪַ with about 30 per cent saying they are more likely to put up an elaborate display if their neighbours do and seven per cent BԪַovertly or coverlyBԪַ compete with their neighbours for the best display.

However, 46 per cent concede their neighbour has the best lighting display in the neighbour and 11 per cent claim theirs is the best.

BC Hydro added that some decorating habits might contribute to higher costs, such as 26 per cent of people use old incandescent light strings or a mix of old incandescent and LED lighting, which uses significantly more power and is more expensive to run. Plug-in inflatable decorations BԪַ which 14 per cent of people said they used BԪַ are typically run 24/7 and use a lot more power than a strand of LED bulbs.

READ MORE:

Breaking BԪַ You Need To Know

Sign up for a free account today and start receiving our exclusive newsletters.

Sign Up with google Sign Up with facebook

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply.

Reset your password

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply.

A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox.



Don't have an account? Click here to sign up


Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's provincial team, after my journalism career took me around B.C. since I was 19 years old.
Read more



(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }