For Javier Contreras, 19, of Aurora, coming to see a holiday display offered annually in a neighborhood nearby never gets old.
“I’ve been coming here since I was very young,” he said as his mother Rosanna stood by nodding while both looked at a display along Lehnertz Avenue in Aurora. “I love it. It makes me happy because of the message of Christmas. I like the spiritual side.”
On Sunday night, lights and music came on along Lehnertz Avenue. For more than 70 years, residents have been telling the original Christmas story using lighted displays with verses from the Bible as well as characters ranging from wise men, shepherds and the animals they cared for.
For those looking for more holiday attractions, the Peanuts characters including Charlie Brown follow on Lehnertz Circle.
This year’s opening was at 6 p.m. Sunday with the blessing of the crib which was performed by the Rev. Matthew McMorrow from St. Joseph Catholic Church, followed by the president of Aurora’s Lehnertz Avenue Christmas Display Committee Lisa Hardekopf offering a few remarks.
The St. Joseph’s choir also performed a couple of songs and asked that the crowd join in.
Erin Pufunt, who handles media and marketing for the Lehnertz display, said this is the 71st year it has been celebrated without exception, including during the pandemic.
“During COVID, we had a lot of the community come and help as well as high school kids, the football teams and the track teams came and helped as this is obviously an older street and a lot of residents weren’t able to help,” Pufunt said. “This is special. … It’s about the story of Christmas, there’s no Santas or Rudolph.”
With a history seven decades old, Pufunt said the legacy of the display is now multi-generational.
“It’s nice that residents keep that special story and when you get down to the manger it’s a nice change of pace,” she said. “Everyone last year shared a lot of stories, the generations with great-grandchildren and other things have been incredible.”
Hardekopf said she moved to the neighborhood 13 years ago but has connections to Lehnertz that go back much farther. Her house, she said, is displaying sheep and a shepherd this year.
“We moved here in 2009 and I’m newer in the sense of the time that I’ve lived here, but my great-grandparents were among those who started this tradition 71 years ago, and my grandparents lived in my great-grandparents’ house when I was 4,” she said. “I’ve always been connected to Lehnertz Avenue in some way. My Christmases were always here and this was always where I wanted to live and be a part of this. I appreciate the connection of all the neighbors and holding on to this tradition all these years.”
Ron Summers, who said he has lived on Lehnertz Avenue for eight years, was outside Sunday checking on his displays as darkness fell.
“I’m excited to be a part of this and when I moved in all the decorations are part of the house when you purchase it and it’s kind of a surprise, but then I knew what I was in for,” he said. “The first few years all the traffic here was kind of a shock, but you get used to it. Everybody that I’ve talked to and tell them where I live, everybody knows about it. Families have been coming here for 70-some years.”
Rosanna Contreras said she was glad the tradition of coming to Lehnertz was established long ago.
“We said back then, we have a son and we come every year we should bring him by the lights and see how we grew up back then and show him the Christmas spirit,” she said. “It a good habit – a tradition – to have.”
David Danko of Aurora was once again at the opening ceremony and spoke while looking over the manger that he himself built twice – first in 1984, and again in 2017.
“I’ve lived on Lehnertz Avenue 50 years and this is my 50th year participating and my 39th year being in charge of the manger. To have influenced people’s holidays so long means a lot,” he said. “The Christmas display tells the whole story of the birth of Christ. It’s not about Santa Claus and toys. That’s on the other part of the street. We just wanted to bring back the real story of Christmas.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
