Light Wars

No one can tell me how it got started but they say it started either a year before I was born or a few years after, either way its been a tradition on Christmas night for about 20 years!

My grandparents have lived in the same house with the same neighbors, The Fulton's across the street for about 40 years?? or so.
My grandparents and the Fulton's had children the same age and they all had fun playing together as kids.
Both houses have big picture windows that face each other, so you can see right into the other person's house.
well, sometime about 20 years ago. Im assuming it started because my mom and her siblings and the Fulton kids were all back from college, and back for the holidays. They started a light war.

First it started as one family flickering their lights and then they would shut all the lights off and make a formation...say a human pyramid, then they would turn the lights back on for the Fulton's to see, then the Fulton's would return the favor.

Somewhere along the lines things changed to what it is today and what I always remember it being.
Light Wars.
at some point on Christmas night after dinner we will all (or some of us will) be sitting the front room and BAM! there will be lights flashing in our eyes!!
That means the light war is on!!
People start yelling and searching for their flashlights like mad people(santa usually brings flashlights in our stockings) then turn off all the lights and start flashing!!
It changes every year sometimes we start it and sometimes they do!

and one time they weren't home so we made a poster and sat on their porch and took a picture with our flashlights in hand, printed the pics and left it at their house!

It is a competition, whoever has the biggest lights wins!
One year we wrapped my uncle up in Christmas lights and sent him outside.

One year they blinded us with a huge work lamp
One year I picked up the floor lamp and flashed it off and on.
This year we thought about having burning torches but then they caught us off gaurd and we just used our flash lights
and a couple of years while this was going on random cars drove by and stopped in the street because they were confused!

Either way it ends with both families meeting in the middle of the street for hugs and maybe a Christmas carol or 2:)
I bet we are the only families in the world with this tradition!


and I love it:)