BC resident suggests putting up lights to show appreciation

Photo: Glacier Media

Let there be light! Let there be a beacon to help guide us through these troubled times!

The idea comes from Victoria resident Kate Sykes-Waller, who says we should string up and turn on our Christmas lights to show thanks for front-line health-care workers and everyone serving the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She says it would also allow people to “come together ... where we’re all supporting each other.”

“I was just thinking of how to firstly send a message from everybody to all the people who are on the forefront of this, who might, for example, be coming home late at night after doing a shift at the hospital, or drivers of buses,” she said.

Even though Sykes-Waller admits she’s “a bit of a Christmas Grinch” with only one set of lights herself, she settled on Christmas lights because it’s something most people already have.

“Kids will think it’s the nuts-est thing ever, but it’ll be really neat to sort of have Christmas in April,” she said. “I think it has a lot of heartwarming, come-together aspects with very little hassle.”

She said a lit-up neighbourhood would also provide another activity for anyone who’s running out of ways to keep busy while staying apart.

“People can get in their cars with their kids or by themselves and just go around and look at the lights like everybody does at Christmas. It’s a safe thing to do, I think,” Sykes-Waller said.