And You Thought a Red Nose Was Flashy …

Published December 19, 2011

A Madison, Mississippi family is being threatened with litigation by city officials unless they remove some of their Christmas decorations.

The family put a large Santa Claus figure and two smaller peacocks on the roof of their house. The Santa Claus can stay, but the peacocks have to go because neighbors don’t like them, city officials said. And what the neighbors don’t like, the city bans.

The family’s mother said she has won awards for her Christmas decorations, loves the peacocks, and her children love them. “I love Christmas. This is what I do,” she said.

But a city architectural control ordinance bans anything that would decrease property values. And the mayor said “numerous” people don’t “love” the peacocks. “There have been numerous calls to my office complaining about the peacocks on the roof,” he said. “I always listen to resident concerns.”

Source: Roslyn Anderson, “City orders family to take down Christmas decorations,” WBTV, November 29, 2011