After mentioning a few days ago the LED Festival in Milan a few days ago and noting now that just across the Alps, Lyon is about to stage Festival des Lumieres 2010, I will not try to conjure all the reasons why various cities stage these events in thev Fall-Winter months.
One thing I have to say from my end about the Festival des Lumieres (and it has nothing to do with my French roots) is compared to Milan they make it a breeze to access images of their event both on their site and Facebook page.
Festival des Lumieres (December 8-December 11) storyline traces its origins back to 1850 when church leaders launched a competition for a statue to be placed on the top of Fourviere neighborhood.
Once a winner was selected (sculptor Fabisch), September 8, 1852 was set as the date of the inauguration.
In August the river Saone overflowed I learned, yet people did not this damp their spirits and decided to light candles to celebrate the occasion nevertheless.
Courage, temerity, foolishness, decision is yours.
(* Image above is 'Les Terreaux' in 2009 edition)