New lights, new leaf

SQUABBLES, quarrels and controversy over the curious timing of Palma’s Christmas lights were put to one side when the city finally embraced the Christmas season over the weekend.

Mayor Jose Hila braved the seasonal wrath of local retailers to personally flick the switch and a magical ceremony saw the city festooned with Christmas spirit amid dozens of stalls, live music, parades and good tidings.

The lights will stay on until Three Kings Day on January 6, with the Kings themselves appearing at the Casal Solleric rather than the Placa Cort due to construction works, as is tradition in Spain.

Local business owners had been furious with the mayor over the decision to postpone the Christmas lights for one week in a dastardly attempt to separate the event from last weekend’s Black Friday shopping frenzy and lure more people into the city, despite most people doing their shopping online.