Back in the 1970s, there was a homeowner in southwest Minneapolis who, for many years at Christmastime, put a toilet seat on the front roof of the house and decorated it with Christmas lights.
Another creative person acquired a white plastic statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur skeleton and adorned it with lights, including flashing ones protruding from the eye sockets and nostrils. They even hung tinsel from the ribs.
For 15 years, an Eden Prairie couple has kept this same “spirit.”
Patrick and Carol Prom, of 12661 Pioneer Trail, have had a vintage John Deere farm tractor adorned with Christmas lights in their front yard. Actually, it is the chassis of a 1942 model.
“I located it in Little Falls and brought it back here,” Prom said. “I grew up on a farm in North Dakota and was around tractors all the time.”
“He is a John Deere buff,” added Carol. “We have two other John Deere tractors we use for chores around the house.”
The practice of decorating one’s home dates back to pagan times, when the winter solstice was first celebrated. With the arrival of Christmas, the Germans were believed to be the first Christians to adopt the tradition, followed by the French and the British. American colonists took up the practice in the late 1700s.
Before the discovery of electricity, house yuletide decorations were limited to pine boughs, nuts, berries, and fruit. With the advent of electric power, lights came into play starting in the early 20th century.
Historical records make no reference to tractors – or, for that matter, toilet seats and dinosaur skeletons.
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