Oxford Ups the Wattage on Holiday Cheer

The City prepares for the holiday season with more décor than ever.

Devin Mooneyham of the Oxford Electrical Department hung the first garlands on the Square on Nov. 5.

If you’ve ever seen Oxford around Christmas time, you probably couldn’t help but feel a little warm and fuzzy. When it comes to holiday decorations, the city of Oxford goes all out. The lights, wreaths, and festivities around the city, specifically on the Square, have become quite a tradition that Oxford residents excitedly look forward to every year.

While people in Oxford find joy in the holiday decorations around town, many don’t know how much time, planning and effort goes into bringing holiday cheer to Oxford every year.

“Putting everything up depends on the weather because we are at the mercy of the weather,” Oxford Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Billy Lamb said. “But typically it takes about three weeks. It takes awhile. People ask why we start so early, that’s why.”

All of the hard work will be worth it this year as Lamb predicts this year’s decorations will be bigger and better than ever.

“I think this year will be the prettiest year,” Lamb said. “We’ve made a lot of changes. We’ve always been short on our electric supply, but we’ve fixed it and we have additional electricity so we are able to have a lot more lights and decorations.”

Some might wonder why Oxford continues to take the time and effort to put up the decorations every year, but according to Lamb Oxford is deserving of the work.

“Oxford is a special place and to keep doing the same thing is always a challenge, but Christmas is a special time of year and we try our best to make it better every year. This year, it’s going to look really good!”

Oxford residents are thankful for the temporary winter wonderland.

“I really, really enjoy it,” Ole Miss senior Nicole Bounds said. “It really puts me in the holiday spirit and just makes me happy. It’s nice to know people go out of their way to spread cheer. It means a lot these days and it’s just one more thing to love about Oxford.”

–Story contributed by Meek School of Journalism and New Media student Morgan White