December 24, Christmas Eve

Early morning sunshine glistened off the snow-covered mountains. The white peaks lay under a golden-red sky, the morning sunrise embraced the valley below. The glassy waters of Okanagan Lake mirrored the world around and reflected the glory of the dawn. I stood at the window in awe of the world, silenced by the beauty of it all.

It is Christmas Eve and the world is amazing.

Last night we went to drive around and look at Christmas lights. I remember the wonder I felt as a child driving to all the Christmas light displays in Calgary. We would go to the richer areas of town that had the man-made lakes. These frozen lakes would have amazing strings of lights in different shapes and sizes. This was back in the day before we had LED lights, the days before there were blow-up Santas and pre-made snowmen. In the ’70s and ’80s, people created figures using old-school wire and lights. Last night we went in search of our neighbourhood’s creative displays.

My fourteen-year-old daughter did her best to keep from rolling her eyes when I suggested a tour of the local light displays. We were searching for a bit of tradition in a Christmas like no other before. It wasn’t a real surprise when she asked to bring a friend.

When I was a kid my parents knew where to go and we piled into the car and headed off. Excited by the anticipation of what the lights would look like that year it was always a massive spectacular display. That was Calgary in the eighties, before cell phones.

Last night in West Kelowna we had the technology to find the lights of our town. In a big city like Calgary, the light displays were massive and extraordinary. Our small city in the mountains would take a little more searching to find anything to compare. My daughter suggested Candy Cane Lane in Kelowna; apparently, it is quite an impressive display. The big drawback was the thirty-minute drive across town to find this mythic light show. Meanwhile, West Kelowna had a Twinkle Tour that people could enter into and the homes would be labeled on an interactive map.

I had high hopes my tech-savvy kid would be able to guide us to all the cool places on the map. Strangely she was not all that interested in the job as navigator. I would have to go old-school and simply drive toward the lights. My wife wasn’t too interested in the job either so off we went.

I knew the first road with a house marked on it. After that, it was a matter of following the reds, greens, blues, and yellows that glowed in the surrounding streets.

We drove up Glencoe Road, on the hill above we saw a house lit up like a beacon in the night. It called to us and beckoned to our sense of adventure and exploration. Part of the challenge was finding the street it was on. We climbed higher up the mountainside and the snow piles grew around us. Exploring the streets we found many homes lit in the wonder of the season. The kids seemed genuinely interested in the displays as we drove by.

“I’ve never just driven around the hood looking at Christmas lights. It’s kinda neat.” Marijke’s friend commented with a laugh. With those words she made my night, I felt a connection with the kids as we rounded each corner to see another creative display.

We drove on and continued to search for the huge display we had seen in the distance from Glencoe Road. We continued into the night and turned back at another cul-du-sac. We back-tracked down the hill and searched for another way to find the Christmas lights we had seen from a distance.

Then there it was, we found the right road and we came to the end of the street. Two large houses connected by Christmas lights filled our view. We exalted the efforts these neighbours must have gone through to create the massive light show. There was a tall pyramid of green lights with strands of blue and red cascading around it. Every peak on both houses glowed with white lights. The street radiated joy, I smiled as I heard the kids set their phones down and admire the world in front of them.

We drove homeward, passing many more houses lit for the season. It felt good reliving a bit of my childhood through my kid and her friend. It was a connection with the past and the future in one evening drive through West Kelowna.

I hope everyone has a joyous Christmas and is able to connect with someone you love.