Christmas in New Hampshire

I was excited to see what they do in New Hampshire to decorate for Christmas and was somewhat surprised when only a few houses in each area were decorated with lights.  Severe winter weather may have a great deal to the lack of enthusiasm for major bling on each house.  At first I thought we come home from the archives between 4:30 and 5:00 and although it is already getting dark we may be missing some of the houses who just haven't turned them on yet.  Last night we came home after eight o'clock and again I realized how few outside Christmas lights were on the houses.  What I did noticed this time was that many of the houses have white candles in each window which is quite striking. There are also beautifully decorated trees by a window in their living rooms. Another difference is the live wreaths that hang on doors and windows throughout the area.  They have every size imaginable at the Christmas tree lot along with some perfectly shaped trees that apparently come from Vermont and Maine.  Downtown the small shops along Main street have decorated windows to celebrate the season and a beautiful nativity is in front of the state capital building.  Although it is different than what we may see where we come from it is still wonderful to feel Christmas in the air.