A family in Bavaria has become a national attraction after lighting their home with more than 40,000 LED lights for Christmas, as seen in footage captured on Thursday.
Homeowner Oliver Schott explained that his passion for Christmas decorations goes back to his childhood, but his enthusiasm grew when he started singing gospel music.
“I’ve always decorated my room since I was 7 years old, and then I kept expanding, even before I had anything to do with gospel music. But I’ve been singing gospel music since 1993, and I’ll say it grew more and more,” he said.
Schott’s stunning home features a self-made Christmas tree, various light-up figures, sleighs and lots of decorations.
The Bavarian homeowner has been spreading the Christmas spirit with his elaborate decorations since 2007. He has been adding more lights every year and although he has lost count, he estimates that his home now features well over 40,000 LEDs.
“So it’s well over 40,000 and I haven’t really counted them individually. I now have this ball again in the background, which alone has 10,000 LEDs. Yes, but there are now well over 40,000 LEDs,” he said.
However, amid Germany’s emerging energy crisis, Schott says he’ll be keeping an eye on the energy meter every night, as electricity bills continue to spiral out of control.
“Normally we switch on, on 11.11, a tradition. But this year, due to the energy crisis, we decided to turn on a bit later,” Schott explained.
“I always said it would cost me around 100 euros more. Because I’ve never measured that, not at all. This year it’s really the first time because of the energy crisis and the high costs, I’ll really read the electricity meter every evening for the first few days, then I can say that in general,” he added.