page_title: Christmas lights in Medellín
section_title: Mi Rio Project
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas lights in Medellín / History / Mi Rio Project
caption_attribution_description: Pueblito Paisa en el Cerro Nutibara, Navidad 2006, Medellín, Colombia,
context_page_description: Christmas lights in Medellín, known in Spanish simply as the "Lighting" or more officially the EPM Lights, is a traditional seasonal event in Medellín, Colombia, where the city hangs millions of Christmas lights and holds light shows and other cultural events. Since the 1990s, the main locations of the lights have been on and around the Medellín River and La Playa Avenue, although the event has expanded to include over one hundred other locations around the city. The event usually lasts from the beginning of December until the beginning of January, and the lights are designed and sponsored by Empresas Públicas de Medellín, the city's public utilities company.
  Because of its attraction to tourists, the event has gotten bigger each year, with a widening availability of energy resources and budgets, and increasing participation by local citizens. The ceremony traditionally began on 7 December, the Day of the Little Candles and the unofficial start to the Christmas season in Colombia. However, in recent years the lighting has begun sooner to accommodate the increase in tourism.
context_section_description: In the 1990s, the Medellín government endorsed a strategy of sustainable development for the city, which included a project called Mi Río (My River) that sought to clean up the Medellín River. As part of this plan, citizens living near the river were encouraged to pick the themes for the seasonal Christmas lights that would adorn the city and the river itself. Over time, the avenues along the Medellín River became one of the main points to view the lighting as a result of these plans.
caption: Pueblito Paisa Church on Nutibara Hill in 2006.
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