Belgian candle lights
(Picture: ITV)A Belgian mayor has apologised after residents said his homemade Christmas lights looked like penises when they were switched on.
The blue and white structures were supposed to resemble candles, the mayor said.
But locals found themselves mesmerised by the design for all the wrong reasons and shared photos online joking about the X-rated designs.
The local newspaper HLN counted no less than 90 “candles” installed on the streets of the small seaside town of Oudenburg - also famous for its Roman museum and escape room.
Mayor Anthony Dumarey admitted to receiving “many reactions” to the phallic-shaped street art.
He said designers had originally been thinking of candles but decided at the last minute that a flame at the top of the white column was cliche. Instead, they replaced it with a blue ball.
“We were on a limited budget, so our technical department designed the illumination by itself,” he told reporters.
“In any case, we wanted to move away from the classic flame or candle-themed illumination."
He added that each decoration cost the town €165 to make, adding: “If we wanted to buy something instead, we would have to pay €500 each.”
The Mayor said the final decorations were “not that big of a problem,” and that everyone could use “some humour in these times.”
“For instance, a woman told me laughing that she would also like a big Christmas pecker at her door," she said.
"Some people snap photos with them with thumbs up. It is certainly the most talked-about Christmas illumination in the country.”
The two-and-a-half minute advert is directed by Taika Waititi, who has won an Oscar for his comedy-drama film JoJo Rabbit.
In the advert, a father is shown making a long and arduous journey to the North Pole as he braves harsh weather to deliver his daughter’s letter to Santa Claus.
The father, who works on an oil rig, is desperate to fulfil his daughter’s Christmas wish. But when he finally arrives at the North Pole, he is saddened to see a “Closed for Christmas” sign.
