By Staff
Lights of Love allows families to celebrate events and loved ones
By CLAUD HODGES
Senior Reporter
Although the Lights of Love tree was at a new location, the reaction was the same when its lights came on Thursday — children and adults alike watched with delight.
The tree was adorned with hundreds of tiny, white lights that twinkled in the cool, late fall night. A star comprised of lights sat atop the tree that seemed to reach toward the sky. The tree-lighting ceremony for Beaufort County Hospital’s Lights of Love program attracted about 350 people to Harding Square at the southern end of Market Street in Washington.
The 21st-annual Lights of Love tree-lighting ceremony was moved from Beaufort County Hospital’s front lawn to Harding Square because of construction taking place on the hospital’s front lawn. The Lights of Love project is organized by the Beaufort County Hospital Foundation.
The Lights of Love tree-lighting ceremony dates back to 1986 when it was established as a means for members of the Beaufort County Hospital community to celebrate or remember a loved one during the holiday season. Today, Lights of Love is a year-round project that enables families to “give back” to Beaufort County Hospital while celebrating special events or loved ones. Donations made to the Lights of Love project are used to provide hospital amenities that enhance patient care. For every recommended donation of $10 or more, the foundation adds a symbolic light to the Lights of Love tree as a “thank you” for participating in the spirit of giving.
As a bell sounded at 6 p.m., voices with the Washington Chorale Society sang Christmas carols. The Northeast Elementary School Chorus performed at the ceremony, too.
Before the tree was lighted, bells rang and Santa Claus appeared.
At 6:30 p.m., he did just that.