Out Here, Fire Means Life

--Jeff Probst

The City of Santa Fe is allowing luminarios to be lit on Christmas Eve. Said luminarios can be a maximum of three feet by three feet, and the flame can extend no higher than three feet. So what we're talking about here is a cubic yard of fire! While most modern day luminarios are little lightbulbs in brown paper bags, the original version were bonfires.

I love it! They spend a year lecturing us about this whole drout business. For 11 months we've been told that striking a match anywhere in Santa Fe would most likely result in a fireball so vast it would be seen from Mars. But like clockwork, once Christmas came rolling around and there was a Spanish tradition on the horizon.."Hell, go light as many bonfires as you want. Just keep a bucket of water handy."

Don't get me wrong, in the battle between luminarios and The Match Patrol I come down firmly on the luminarios side. I'm just noting that if this were about say...cooking lutefisk, I doubt they'd make an exception to the air pollution policies. And trust me, cooking lutefisk /is/ air pollution.

All the same though, it seems that too many business use luminarios for decorations for my taste. I wish they could throw in some of the more usual Christmas lights. Maybe even a Santa Claus or (dream) a creche or two.

Why do I want to see more than just luminarios?

Because I celebrate diversity, baby. I celebrate diversity.