A live tree illuminated by thousands of lights. A choir of cherubic children singing Christmas carols. A community coming together to ring in the holiday season.

It’s time to light the tree.

After 27 years, it’s tradition. For many, the season officially begins with Lights of Love, the annual lighting of the live tree on the grounds of Vidant Beaufort Hospital. The lights represent commemoration of loved ones through donations by individuals in the community. Those (minimum) $5 donations to Lights of Love add up, and what they add up to is amenities that might not be available otherwise.

For example, Lights of Love funds paid for wireless connections in hospital waiting rooms. They paid for the talents of artist Tabitha Ferrell and the Peter Rabbit mural she painted in the hospital nursery. The funds provided new rocker/gliders for new mothers and new recliners in patient rooms.

In short, Lights of Love paid for a lot of comfort for visitors and patients and that should be celebrated.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, the celebration begins. The children of the John Cotten Tayloe Chorus, consisting of 30 third-graders, will sing a sampling of their Christmas choral concert songs. Over 250 pieces of holiday art from kindergarten through fifth-grade students will be displayed throughout the first floor of the hospital.

But most important are the lights that honor and remember the special people in our lives, that light the night with Christmas joy, and bring comfort to so many throughout the year.