Hungarians pedal away to light Budapest’s Christmas lights

The city’s Second District opted for sustainable Christmas decoration this year

Budapest authorities have opted to apply sustainability as a concept in the city’s Christmas decorations, celebrating the festive season while dealing with the surging energy costs during the winter season. As a result, there is a Christmas-tree-shaped light with a bicycle, where locals can spin the pedals, bringing the tree to life, as Reuters reported.

The bike is connected to a battery, which, along with solar panels powers the lights around Budapest square. This encourages families, especially with little children, to spin really hard and deliver a magical Christmas in the Hungarian capital.

Gergely Orsi, the mayor of Budapest's 2nd district, was quoted explaining that the Christmas bike can also help people feel warm in the cold winter weather. Additionally, he pointed out that pedalling for lights can actually highlight how much energy a six-metre-high Christmas tree decoration needs. His municipality had decided to cancel most decorations this year due to the energy crisis.

Budapest’s mayor comes out with a message of solidarity

Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Karácsony went on to social media to express his message of solidarity with the citizens of the Hungarian capital. He pointed out that the past few years have been mired in waiting for the ‘bad to pass’.

He also condemned the Russian war in Ukraine, for plunging so many people into an energy crisis right after the health crisis of COVID-19 started to subside. Finally, he called for solidarity to help get people through the winter and the holiday season.