About Bern Rix

Bern Rix: The ultimate creator of Christmas magic for over 40 years.

Beginning in 1974, Bern Rix would turn an ordinary street into one of Arizona's greatest Christmas traditions. Known to many as "The Greenway House" due to its proximity to Greenway Rd or "The Christmas House on Kathleen" named for the street it was on, what we all knew was the name didn't matter. When you turned the corner and arrived, it was officially Christmas.


Many homes put up light displays across our nation. Some are small, some are big, some are huge. But Bern put up countless Christmas trees, poinsettias, garlands, wired stars that disappeared into the night sky, water fountains and his ultimate decoration, the dozens of original, hand-painted wooden figures covering every display.


Some would say the magic came from the elaborate front yard where most of the figures were displayed over a two-story facade that was simply his home for the other 11 months of the year.  Others would say it came from the fully decorated interior that Bern welcomed you into. He was so dedicated to this tradition that he didn't even have carpet down in his home. You would usually catch him sitting at the front door with a Santa hat (pictured), welcoming you in. Some would even argue that it was the incredible backyard display that had more original art work encircling a magnificent pool with a bridge you had to cross to exit. It was magic. It all was. But we believe the reason this display simply couldn't be rivaled by anything else, the reason the magic was elevated beyond anything we've ever seen, or ever will again, was simple.


Actually, it was far from simple...


Every year you turned onto his street, it was like waking up to Santa's arrival on Christmas morning. Why? Because no year was ever the same. For over 40 years, Bern Rix gave us something new every single Christmas.


We aren't talking a few figures. Many years, there could be 50 figures between the front and back yards, many measuring over 8 feet tall, some 12 feet wide. All hand-painted by Bern on plywood with tiny holes drilled out to insert Christmas lights to accent elements of the design. They were beautiful. And Bern would sell every last piece of the art each year, forcing himself to start from scratch for the next.


Some years it was all children, some years it was all Santas, some years we were treated to the most magnificent nativity scene ever seen. He kept us guessing, and we couldn't wait to come back for more. 


While many still call it the greatest light display, Bern would correct you with a phrase we heard so many times in the front of his home. "It's not a light display, it's an art display," he would say. And he was right. What we all remember is the angel on the moon, the Santa sleeping in a chair, caroling children, angels on lampposts, the diving Santa in the pool. And the awe that it changed every single Christmas.


It was a one-of-a-kind art display at the hands of a master artist, a man who brought joy to 100's of thousands of people for nearly half a century, and a man who spent his life creating holiday magic for no other reason but to make people happy.


For anyone that visited this magical display, we know there will never be a Christmas display like this again. And we also know, with certainty, that Bern Rix was the real Santa.

Bern Rix: The ultimate creator of Christmas magic for over 40 years.

Beginning in 1974, Bern Rix would turn an ordinary street into one of Arizona's greatest Christmas traditions. Known to many as "The Greenway House" due to its proximity to Greenway Rd or "The Christmas House on Kathleen" named for the street it was on, what we all knew was the name didn't matter. When you turned the corner and arrived, it was officially Christmas.


Many homes put up light displays across our nation. Some are small, some are big, some are huge. But Bern put up countless Christmas trees, poinsettias, garlands, wired stars that disappeared into the night sky, water fountains and his ultimate decoration, the dozens of original, hand-painted wooden figures covering every display.


Some would say the magic came from the elaborate front yard where most of the figures were displayed over a two-story facade that was simply his home for the other 11 months of the year.  Others would say it came from the fully decorated interior that Bern welcomed you into. He was so dedicated to this tradition that he didn't even have carpet down in his home. You would usually catch him sitting at the front door with a Santa hat (pictured), welcoming you in. Some would even argue that it was the incredible backyard display that had more original art work encircling a magnificent pool with a bridge you had to cross to exit. It was magic. It all was. But we believe the reason this display simply couldn't be rivaled by anything else, the reason the magic was elevated beyond anything we've ever seen, or ever will again, was simple. Actually, it was far from simple...


Every year you turned onto his street, it was like waking up to Santa's arrival on Christmas morning. Why? Because no year was ever the same. For over 40 years, Bern Rix gave us something new every single Christmas.


We aren't talking a few figures. Many years, there could be 50 figures between the front and back yards, many measuring over 6 feet tall, some 12 feet wide. All hand-painted by Bern on plywood with tiny holes drilled out to insert Christmas lights to accent elements of the design. They were beautiful. And Bern would sell every last piece of the art each year, forcing himself to start from scratch for the next. Some years it was all children, some years it was all Santas, some years we were treated to the most magnificent nativity scene ever seen. He kept us guessing, and we couldn't wait to come back for more. 


While many still call it the greatest light display, Bern would correct you with a phrase we heard so many times in the front of his home. "It's not a light display, it's an art display," he would say. And he was right. What we all remember is the angel on the moon, the Santa sleeping in a chair, caroling children, angels on lampposts, the diving Santa in the pool. And it created awe because it changed every single Christmas.


It was a one-of-a-kind art display at the hands of a master artist, a man who brought joy to 100's of thousands of people for nearly half a century, and a man who spent his life creating holiday magic for no other reason but to make people happy. For anyone that visited this magical display, we know there will never be a Christmas display like this again. And we also know, with certainty, that Bern Rix was the real Santa.

Bern Rix: The ultimate creator of Christmas magic for over 40 years.

Beginning in 1974, Bern Rix would turn an ordinary street into one of Arizona's greatest Christmas traditions. Known to many as "The Greenway House" due to its proximity to Greenway Rd or "The Christmas House on Kathleen" named for the street it was on, what we all knew was the name didn't matter. When you turned the corner and arrived, it was officially Christmas.


Many homes put up light displays across our nation. Some are small, some are big, some are huge. But Bern put up countless Christmas trees, poinsettias, garlands, wired stars that disappeared into the night sky, water fountains and his ultimate decoration, the dozens of original, hand-painted wooden figures covering every display.


Some would say the magic came from the elaborate front yard where most of the figures were displayed over a two-story facade that was simply his home for the other 11 months of the year.  Others would say it came from the fully decorated interior that Bern welcomed you into. He was so dedicated to this tradition that he didn't even have carpet down in his home. You would usually catch him sitting at the front door with a Santa hat (pictured), welcoming you in. Some would even argue that it was the incredible backyard display that had more original art work encircling a magnificent pool with a bridge you had to cross to exit. It was magic. It all was. But we believe the reason this display simply couldn't be rivaled by anything else, the reason the magic was elevated beyond anything we've ever seen, or ever will again, was simple. Actually, it was far from simple...


Every year you turned onto his street, it was like waking up to Santa's arrival on Christmas morning. Why? Because no year was ever the same. For over 40 years, Bern Rix gave us something new every single Christmas.


We aren't talking a few figures. Many years, there could be 50 figures between the front and back yards, many measuring over 6 feet tall, some 12 feet wide. All hand-painted by Bern on plywood with tiny holes drilled out to insert Christmas lights to accent elements of the design. They were beautiful. And Bern would sell every last piece of the art each year, forcing himself to start from scratch for the next. Some years it was all children, some years it was all Santas, some years we were treated to the most magnificent nativity scene ever seen. He kept us guessing, and we couldn't wait to come back for more. 


While many still call it the greatest light display, Bern would correct you with a phrase we heard so many times in the front of his home. "It's not a light display, it's an art display," he would say. And he was right. What we all remember is the angel on the moon, the Santa sleeping in a chair, caroling children, angels on lampposts, the diving Santa in the pool. And it created awe because it changed every single Christmas.


It was a one-of-a-kind art display at the hands of a master artist, a man who brought joy to 100's of thousands of people for nearly half a century, and a man who spent his life creating holiday magic for no other reason but to make people happy. For anyone that visited this magical display, we know there will never be a Christmas display like this again. And we also know, with certainty, that Bern Rix was the real Santa.

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