Balzhausen's shining tribute: Christmas lights honour lost love
The Christmas house in Balzhausen is one of the most beautiful on the street, and it conceals a touching story. Every time 69-year-old Josef Glogger illuminates the Christmas lights in front of his house, he sends a message to his late wife, Erika.
According to "Bild," two decades ago, the Glogger couple began decorating their home and garden with thousands of lights, angels, and nativity scenes during Advent. The couple, who had no children, were happy when their garden adorned with Christmas lights was visited by children. Unfortunately, last year, 63-year-old Erika lost her long battle with leukaemia.
I promised her that I would continue - Josef said in an interview with "Bild."
Erika and Josef were married for 26 years. His wife's passing was a significant blow for Josef, but he found the strength to continue their tradition despite the loss of his beloved. Last year, he arranged wooden figures in his yard and stretched hundreds of metres of cables. 45,000 LED lights illuminated his garden.
The Christmas garden was his wife's idea
Josef does not hide the fact that his wife dreamed of a garden full of Christmas decorations and came up with the idea of creating it. She also wanted two large angels, which I built for her from wood in 1999 and 2001, with openings to place lamps in them, the man revealed in an interview with Bild.
Erika's battle with cancer lasted many years. Five years ago, the couple decided to place containers with mulled wine, punch on the fence, and a donation box. The collected funds were allocated to support cancer research. As the 69-year-old admitted, 6,000 visitors raised 30,000 euros for leukaemia research in the last five years.
The year Erika passed away, the lights in our home gave me much comfort. Sometimes I hear from guests, who have experienced similar losses, that this view helps them get through tough times - admitted Josef.
