Christmas story

In the Önkelstieg terraced housing estate, pensioner Erna B. has her grandson Norbert install three electric candles on the windowsill of her living room. A pre-Christmas atmosphere spreads. The joy is great.

10:14 am

While emptying the garbage can, neighbor Ottfried P. observes the provocative Christmas offensive in the house next door and immediately counters by placing the ten-armed Danish candle set of 15 watts each in the kitchen window. Hours later, the entire Önkelstieg estate shines in the contemplative glow of 134 electric window decorations.

7:03 pm

At the Sottrup-Höcklage coal-fired power station, 14 km away, the engineer on duty mistakenly registers a fault in the electricity measuring devices for the Stenkelfeld-Nord area, but is initially unsuspecting.

8:17 pm

Horst and Heidi E. manage to connect a chain circuit of 96 halogen film lights through all the trees in their orchard to the three-phase mains. Parts of the native bird world start building their nests in confusion.

8:56 pm

The discotheque owner Alfons K. feels compelled to contribute to the pre-Christmas atmosphere and mounts the laser sampler "Metropolis", one of the most powerful in Europe, on the flat roof of his bungalow. The 40-meter-high façade of an adjacent grain silo withstands the continuous fire of the Santa Claus projection for several minutes before it crumbles with an ugly sound.

9:30 p.m.

In the hustle and bustle of a Christmas party at the Sottrup-Höcklage coal-fired power station, the alarm signal from generator hall 5 fades away.

21:50

The 85-year-old war veteran August R. conjures up the Star of Bethlehem on the low-hanging clouds with 190 "Varta Volkssturm" anti-aircraft searchlights.

10:12 pm

A group of Asian businessmen with light luggage and summery clothing wander frightened through the Önkelstieg housing estate. Earlier, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Sydney had accidentally landed in the driveway of the Bröhrmayer bakery, which was paved with 3,000 colorful neon lights.

10:37 pm

NASA's Voyager 7 space probe transmits images from the edge of the Milky Way of an alleged supernova in the northern hemisphere. The experts in Houston are at a loss.

22:50

A slight tremor shakes the area around the Sottrup-Höcklage coal-fired power plant. The entire complex with its 30 turbines runs at 350 megawatts, roaring beyond the load limit.

11:06 pm

Student Bettina U. wakes up in the brightly lit Önkelstieg housing estate and is mistakenly happy about the sunny December morning. At exactly 23:12, she presses the switch on her coffee machine.

11:12:14 pm

The explosion of the Sottrup-Höcklage coal-fired power station breaks like thunder into the sudden darkness of the entire district of Stenkelfeld. Distraught people wander through the pitch-black villages, people like you and me, for whom one candle on the Advent wreath was not enough.