It may be the first half of April, but there it was: Durango’s holiday tree in Buckley Park lit up like it was Christmastime.
“Maybe Santa made a surprise visit to Durango to give us some Christmas cheer in our time of need,” said Tim Walsworth, director of the Durango Business Improvement District, which organizes the holiday tree lighting.
Joking aside, Walsworth said the team at BID decided to turn on the lights, which were still hanging from the holidays. Usually, BID removes the strings of lights around this time of year when it gets warmer.
“Normally, now we’d be taking them down, but now we’re not,” he said. “We turned it on for a little cheer for the town, for anyone who might be out after dark, they’ll see it.”
Across the U.S., as the coronavirus pandemic confines people to their homes and disrupts nearly every facet of daily life, there’s been a growing movement to string up Christmas lights.
Or for certain procrastinators, turn lights back on that were never taken down.
On Twitter, the hashtags #ChristmasInMarch, #ChristmasLights and #LightsForLife have taken off as a way for people to share photos of homes decorated with holiday cheer.
Even the Hallmark Channel re-aired its Christmas movie marathon a few weekends ago.
Also in an attempt at lightheartedness, residents in Durango and Farmington have placed stuffed bears in their windows so families can take walks or drives throughout neighborhoods to find them.
Herald Staff
