Novi man honors Jesus with Christmas light display

NOVI — Decorating one’s home with lights during the Christmas season has become a tradition for many families, but for one Novi man it is much more than an annual tradition. It is a way to honor Jesus.

“I just like doing it for the beauty of it, but the main thing about the lights is to me it commemorates the birth of Christ,” John Karakian said. “The reason for the season is Jesus. He’s the light of the world and he came and said ‘I am the light.’ If you go back to the beginning of time, God said ‘the face of the deep and the trouble with darkness let there be light’ and he said it was good because it separated the darkness and then years later when Jesus was born he said, ‘I am the light,’ and that was good. He came to save us all from our sins and the light reminds me of that and also to help remind us to tell others about the Lord and bring others to Christ, and that’s what the lights are about. He’s the light of the world and that’s why I commemorate him like that.”

According to Karakian, using light(s) to commemorate Christ dates back hundreds of years. He said that in Germany they used to light candles and place them on Christmas trees for the same reason.

“So, I didn’t invent it but that’s why I do it too,” he said.   

He said he started putting up the lights when he moved to his home in Novi in 1995 and has been doing it ever since. His display includes multiple moving lights, Santas, snowmen and snowflakes, and inside he has several Christmas trees with varying themes and a large Rudolph with an elf riding on him, and much more.

Karakian, a chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, a Teamsters Union for the railroad engineers of Grand Trunk Western Railroad Co., a subsidiary of Canadian National Railroad, said he starts putting up his lights and other holiday decor in mid-November and continues to put up a little bit every day until it is complete. He said the outside typically takes him about a week to get up, but that it could be done in one full day if he had wanted to devote a day to doing it. He said he plans to keep the light display up through January, as it is a lot of work to set up, so he is not in a hurry to take it down. He added that it looks good as the wind is blowing and the snow is coming down.

“It’s a pretty good night-light out there,” Karakian said.

“I hate taking it down because it looks so good,” Karakian said. “I think a house looks its best at Christmastime. It’s like it’s all dressed up. It has its suit on, a bow tie and tuxedo on.”

Karkian said he has no idea how much he has spent on lights and holiday decorations over the years but said it has to be in the thousands. He has so much stuff that he was able to not only decorate his home this year, but the home of his girlfriend, Christel Stauch, as well.

Karakian said the best time to buy lights is after the holiday when everything is on sale. He said the best places to shop for lights and decor are Farmer John’s Greenhouse in Farmington Hills and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmouth. He described Farmer John’s as “a little Bronner’s.”

“They have great stuff. In fact they call me ‘Bronner’s South’ and they also call me ‘Farmer John’s West’ because I’ve got so much of their stuff here. They say that Bronner’s Frankenmuth, I’m like a little satellite of theirs,” he said.

He recommends starting with an easy strand of lights and seeing if you like it. He said if it makes you feel good and you want to do more, do more. He also advises that people buy stuff that is not delicate or easily breakable so that you don’t have to replace it too often.

“This stuff gets expensive if you’ve got to do that,” he said.”So, buy some unbreakable, easy things to start.”

He said for the outside he likes blinking lights or lights that appear to move, as he thinks they are eye-catching. However, he does not care for moving lights inside, as he feels they are disorienting.

Karakian said that members of the community have started to notice his elaborate light display. He said that one man stopped by to see it and then called his wife and said, “I just found out where Santa Claus lives.”

“I’ve had neighbors come by, and they get blown away by it,” he said.

Karakian said he hasn’t noticed a difference in his light bill this time of year.  He said he only has the lights on at night and makes sure to turn them off when he goes to bed. The only time he has the lights on for a prolonged period of time is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when the lights remain on for the duration of the holiday.

“I mean, yeah, (the bill is) going to be a little bit more, but to me it’s worth it for the joy,” he said.

“I love Christmas too, for pretty much the same reason,” said Stauch, of South Lyon, Karakian’s girlfriend of eight years.

Stauch said that she and her late husband used to decorate their home on this type of scale, so it really doesn’t phase her that Karakian does this; it is something she is used to. She said her late husband would decorate every room, banister, etc., for the holidays and had an article written about him when they lived in Milford.

“That’s the main thing. I do it to commemorate and brag about Jesus being born,” said Karakian. His outdoor lights display can be seen at 2450 Shawood St. in the area of 13 Mile and Old Novi roads.