Cars We Remember/Collector Car Corner; Cruising under the Christmas lights, then and now

Growing up in south Jersey, notably Vineland, N.J., there was no better time of year than Christmas season, especially cruising under the holiday lights that adorned the main downtown business district on Landis Avenue. As there were no malls yet at that time, these Everywhere, USA main streets were adorned with so many holiday decorations and cheer it was nearly impossible not to get the “best time of the year” feelings. Throw in the holiday music while cruising like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Silver Bells,” or the Chipmunks Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) and the festive mood was good all through December, with many already finished decorating by Thanksgiving.   

In this merriest time of the year, Landis Avenue was, and still is, a highly lit four-lane wide thoroughfare that served as the nightly cruise destination thanks to its over four-mile round trip cruise length.

The ritual of cruising Landis Avenue during Christmas always added an extra touch thanks to the city’s spectacular lighting display. City workers attached (and still do) strands of lights, perhaps 20-feet apart, spanning lengthwise across the 100-ft. wide avenue. The hundreds and hundreds of light adornments made for some grand memories of how the Christmastime season made everything all the better for those who loved cars, cruising, and Christmas.

To us car buffs it comes as no surprise that lighting makes any car look better. Yet nothing compared to the brilliance of nighttime cruising during the Christmas season in Vineland. Adding to the motif were the countless stores along the main avenue, all adorned in their own Christmas lighting displays from “The Spot” pizzeria and “The Elite” hangout on the East side of town to “Jack’s Toyland” midway along that led to the “boulevard” railroad tracks. Further down on the west side sat the large Sears & Roebuck, always dressed for the season in large decoration style.

Once you passed Sears, it led to the perfectly positioned “circle” that made turning around at Delsea Drive and coming back along Landis Avenuew to East Avenue all the easier. You would also pass the numerous diners like Jim & Larry’s and the Circle Diner and car dealers like Yank Chevrolet and Glauser Dodge, likewise adorned in holiday harmony.

Although most of us car cruisers knew the holiday lights made everything seem better, most of us took it for granted never thinking that one day in the future, the actual Christmas celebrations would be challenged by political correctness. We were perhaps overly concerned with the cleanliness of our Chevelle, GTO, Mustang, Super Bee, or even an altered wheelbase ’55 Chevy with white fender well headers.

As we now look back from the window of Christmas season 2022, most of us wish we could re-live those wonderful holiday nights regardless of whatever hometown we lived in. For sure, there are countless Landis Avenue Christmas light stories in Every City USA.

Perhaps “taking for granted” is the real message of this week’s holiday theme column. We all know things have drastically changed in our country as we move quickly to the year 2023. Thankfully Christmas is still strong, regardless of those who want it stopped. (Along with Thanksgiving, too.) 

From my rear view mirror things were better in that 1960-decade. And even though the 1960 era was a decade of resistance and change, a new band of youth that promoted peace and music more so than destructive conflict emerged with historical prominence.

Today many of my readers are nostalgia hungry baby boomers, be it a flower child in a VW Bus on way to Woodstock or a drag racer ready to make a quarter-mile pass in a 1968 Camaro SS/RS 396/375. (I was the drag racer, but I did not attend Woodstock as Uncle Sam had other ideas.)

The one thing then that most everyone agreed on and never questioned was Christmas as a national holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Cities across the country proudly displayed Nativity scenes, many with live animals at certain times of the season. The high school Christmas plays were filled with cheer, and be it parochial or public school, the birth of our Lord was proudly celebrated as most sent Christmas cards, went caroling, and enjoyed everyone’s company.

As for the homes of my teenage friends, they were always decorated inside and out. It was growing up in Vineland where I learned of Hanukkah, the Menorah, and other ways of celebrating special religious times of the season. The families that celebrated Hanukkah complimented the many Christmas tree decorated homes I visited, even if the latter had those fake silver trees with electric powered color wheels that were prevalent. As for food, everyone was in for a treat visiting family and friends when the holidays came around regardless of religious affiliation, which stays the same to this day.

Today I’m happy that most of the major retail stores now allow their employees to say Merry Christmas again. It wasn’t that way for many a year thanks to “political correctness.” Luckily, I now live in a nice small town that celebrates Christmas the good old-fashioned way and I appreciate it very much.

I will always love the lights, driving the neighborhood and looking at decorations, the Christmas movies like Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” to “Miracle on 34th Street” and all the goodwill feelings that people can actually feel deep inside. To those who don’t feel the Christmas spirit, you might want to catch a showing of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” on television or DVD.

Regardless of era, and to those who will always believe in this most special time of the year, have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year.  

 (Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions and comments on collector cars, auto nostalgia and motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com.)