Even avowed republicans were taking part, perhaps seeing the Union flag trimmings as simply the backcloth to a party, like fairy lights at Christmas.

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Entering the lobby, which was decorated with Christmas lights at the height of the desert summer, a stranger gets the feeling that amphetamines might be pumped through the central air-conditioning.

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The adjustable lights can be programmed for red and green at Christmas or orange at Halloween, Empire State Building-style.

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New York and Chicago, for example, are hugely popular at Christmas time, with outsize Christmas trees, glittering holiday lights, and decorated shop windows.

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Gina McDade, who lives a few houses away from Ms. Lanza and saw her from time to time at the grocery store, remembers Ms. Lanza putting up Christmas lights outside the house and as a member of the ladies' night club.

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The star was at the White House in Washington DC earlier this week where she turned on the Christmas lights and met President Bill Clinton again.

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The key feature of Tivoli is its manicured gardens, which are illuminated at night by more than 120, 000 lamps, swelling to more than two million lights during the winter Christmas markets.

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Christmas in Florence Not only is the city wonderfully deserted at this time of year, but the lights that adorn every shop window give the place an almost magical feeling.

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