Baltimore’s enduring eccentricities shine at Christmas

BALTIMORE » From kitschy ornaments to model train extravaganzas and a holiday song dedicated to bottom-feeding crustaceans, Baltimore’s unique brand of quirky creativity really shines at Christmas.

For moviemaker John Waters, the city’s favorite offbeat son, the Yuletide season offers up a parade of unconventional delights. The pop-culture icon dubbed the “Pope of Trash” tours the country with a one-man show devoted to Christmas themes and decorates the front door of his Baltimore home with a thorny wreath to snag guests’ clothes.

Waters loops lights around an electric chair featured in his outrageous comedy “Female Trouble” and sticks unflattering photos of loved ones on tree decorations.

“I like it (Christmas) because it’s excessive, it’s crazy, you can’t ignore it, and it makes people nuts,” said the director of the underground classic “Pink Flamingos” and the acclaimed-comedyturned-Broadway-hit “Hairspray.”

While Baltimoreans enjoy “The Nutcracker” and other noel classics, there’s no shortage of natives who tweak festivities with some of their hometown’s enduring eccentricities.

Wrapped around a cove of the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore has its own seasonal carol paying homage to its favorite delicacy. David DeBoy wrote “Crabs for Christmas” in 1981 and more than 35 years later, it’s become a holiday staple. While some snicker at the title, he swears it’s about seafood.

The song tells the story of a “big fella” from Maryland who finds himself in Texas at Christmas time. Perched on Santa’s knee at a department store, he pines for a Baltimore feast: “Oh, I want crabs for Christmas/ Oh, only crabs will do/Oh ho, with crabs for Christmas/My Christmas wish’ll come true.”

DeBoy said Christmas in Baltimore has its own unique expression because, well, Baltimoreans are often a unique sort.

“They’re very proud of who they are. Yeah, they’re quirky, but they’re proudly individual and they’re just fine with that,” said DeBoy, who has written other Baltimore-specific holiday tunes like the doo-wop “Christmas on the Stoop,” which details seasonal obligations such as stringing tinsel through window burglar bars.

In Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood, an explosion of multicol-

PATRICK SEMANSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS This photo shows Christmas decorations depicting Salie Utz of Utz potato chips, left, and Mr. Boh of National Bohemian Beer in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore. Known as “The Miracle on 34th Street,” the dramatically over-the-top decor along a...