Google Maps the Holiday Lights

It's like a mass hysteria running amok in all the malls and stores in the land. It's like a wave of change and bankruptcy hitting all players at the Monopoly table at once. It's the Holiday spirit and all it implies, shopping for presents for others, or just indulging yourself to whatever it is you wished for all year. It's the time to think of your loved ones and show them you care, it's a time for reminiscing about olden days, when you were all so very happy while jumping with joy around the Christmas tree in your pajamas.

It's bad, it's ugly and it's like a plague that hits every year like clockwork. After it all settles down, however, in the late hours of the 24th, it all stills and you can almost hear the carols coming from your neighbors' stereos. Peace and serenity at last. There are many enthusiasts that have thought about this time of the year and decided to help others understand the spirit, or at least be in a place where that is most likely to happen.

The Ledger, a newspaper in Florida, decided that it would contribute to this by creating a map pinpointing the locations of holiday light displays that are outstanding, and they have used Google Maps for the job, so in case you are a resident of the area, or at least passing by, be sure to stop and check them out.

Kate Hurowitz, of the Google Lat Long Blog, asks of you "to make a similar map for your area. Click on My Maps in Google Maps and use the tools in the upper left-hand corner to design a holiday map of your own", and by that to help the kids, who will be going on car rides with their families, cruise the surrounding neighborhoods and look at the lights and decorations sprinkled through the area.