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People Are Putting Their Holiday Lights Back Up To Spread Cheer Amid Pandemic

People Are Putting Their Holiday Lights Back Up To Spread Cheer Amid Pandemic
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In years’ past, I confess my family has kept up our holiday lights a little too long after the season ends. I try to prolong the spirit of joy and hope as long as I can by keeping the festive lights up and running through mid-January. After that, we will turn them off and sometimes just not get around to taking them down until spring because it’s too darn cold to get out on that ladder. This year, though, the unseasonably warmer winter had us taking down the lights well before the change of season.

But, with a global pandemic taking hold of neighborhoods all over the world, many people decided to forget about the calendar and either keep up their lights or even put them back on the house and shine them brightly! The thought behind digging out the Christmas lights is to add a little bit of light and hope to the world as it waits for the coronavirus impact to fade.

Using the hashtag #LightsforLife, people are sharing their illuminated homes and stories about why the idea of stringing up some lights is making a difference during these difficult times.

I tried to trace the source of this uplifting trend. All my searches came back to this tweet from Lane Grindle, who is a broadcaster for Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers:

It didn’t take long or people to get a spark of inspiration and start a trend that keeps getting brighter. A woman named Nadine shared a photo of her neighbor’s house decorated with blue lights that gave her a warm smile.

Some people may find it a little crazy that Christmas lights can make a difference, by Twitter user Andy Whittaker ignored the doubters and got into the spirit, too.

Meanwhile, kids are spreading the light indoors as well. A DJ from a Canadian radio station shared photos of his kids’ bedrooms which were strung with colorful lights all over.

And there’s Alyssa Lein, who shared that she’s loving getting the last laugh in holding off on taking down her Christmas decorations.

User Virginia Holleman also took the opportunity to get more life out of the lights her family never took down.

All of these photos and the hundreds of others out there on social media have me seriously thinking about pulling out a box or two from my basement and putting some back on the house. We could all use a little more light to brighten our lives right now, right?

This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.