The man behind one of Australia’s biggest Christmas light displays has cancelled this year’s spectacular after online trolls threatened his family.
David Strickland, the mastermind of ‘Merry Strickland’, shared a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ message on Saturday announcing the beloved Brisbane Christmas highlight will not go ahead this year.
Each year, he and his family decorate their Burpengary East home with more than 60,000 Christmas lights and giant inflatables, which can reportedly be seen from space.
However, the 2023 festive season saw the Strickland family come under fire by abusive online trolls who claimed their decorations were too bright and caused too much commotion in the neighbourhood.
After considering the fear and possible harm his family faced, Mr Strickland shared a photo featuring Grinch and middle-finger lights with the caption, ‘And…we’re done for 2024’.
‘When you see your own family in tears, it really makes you question what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,’ Mr Strickland told the Courier Mail.
‘Obviously, I do it for all the right reasons and to bring joy and bit of Christmas spirit, but unfortunately, social media is not a nice place and it brings out the best and worst in everyone.’
Mr Strickland’s post was quickly inundated with hundreds of comments pledging their support for the family while urging them to go ahead with the show.
David Strickland, the mastermind of ‘Merry Strickland’ (pictured), cancelled this year’s Christmas light display
‘This is gold! Well done! Don’t let the haters hate. You guys have brought so much joy to many families,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘That’s absolutely brilliant! A great way to show the Grinches who complained about your light display last year.’
Mr Strickland recalled receiving threatening messages and warnings people wanted to ‘cut all of the lights’, all which led to his wife and two young children feeling unsafe in their home.
‘What people don’t see is the joy that it brings, so it’s hard … not doing it because we see how much joy it does bring,’ he said.
Mr Strickland shared a photo featuring Grinch and middle-finger lights with the caption, ‘And…we’re done for 2024’
The negativity came in spite of the family going ‘above and beyond’ to ensure the event was safe and legal, including getting permits and creating traffic plans.
The Strickland family also raised money for the Burpengary community through the event and worked with the local council to create a temporary car park for visitors.
However, their efforts were deemed not enough by hundreds of people after their 2023 display went viral on TikTok.
Footage of their large display was viewed more than 200million times and made headlines overseas, as far as Greece and the US.
The backlash hasn’t deterred the family from completely writing off their Christmas display though.
Mr Strickland has hinted the beloved festive tradition could make a return in the coming years.
Mr Strickland (pictured) received threatening messages and warnings people wanted to ‘cut all of the lights’, all which led to his wife and two young children feeling unsafe in their home
Thousands flocked to the impressive Christmas lights spectacular each year
