VERONA, Italy (AP) — In cities across Europe, officials are wrestling with a choice this Christmas. They could dim festive lighting to send a message of energy conservation and solidarity with citizens squeezed by higher energy costs and inflation. Or they could let the lights blaze in a message of defiance after two years of pandemic-suppressed Christmas seasons, creating a mood that retailers hope loosen holiday purse strings. Fewer lights will sparkle from the centerpiece tree at France’s famed Strasbourg Christmas market, and lights on Paris’ Champs-Elysees and London’s Oxford Street are reducing hours. But the holiday will shine brightly in Germany, and the Spanish port city of Vigo is keeping up its tradition of staging the country’s most extravagant Christmas light display.
Sober or bright? Europe faces holidays during energy crunch
