By Bruce Karnick

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Every holiday season brings out some of the best in people. People that love to bring joy to others just because it is the right thing to do. This year needs to be different. Yes, you read that right, THIS YEAR NEEDS TO BE DIFFERENT! Let this be very clear, not different in a bad way, but in a good way! We need MORE people to bring others joy just because it is the right thing to do. The more people that do nice things just because, the better. The term “social distancing” is annoying as most humans are social creatures by nature. Physical distancing is more accurate, we can still have social interactions yet be physically spaced apart. Yeah, that’s kind of an awkward way to start a paragraph talking about how to bring each other joy but follow along. During the holiday season, what is one way a community comes together to share joy with each other but remains perfect at physical distancing? The answer?

HOLIDAY LIGHTS!

Remember being a kid driving around with your parents looking at all the crazy cool ways people decorate their homes for the holidays? Guess what you were unknowingly doing. Physical distancing. Yeah, you were with your family, but you were not near any other family pod normally. So why can’t this year be the year that we ramp up the light game and do a little outside decorating? Yes, times are difficult for some, and that’s ok, because the rest of us want to pick you up and put a smile on your face.

Take a drive around Hastings and you are guaranteed to come across a plethora of houses with lights. It’s a holiday tradition for many. Families work together to hang hundreds, if not thousands of tiny bulbs, some multi-colored, some a solid color.

We used to have big plastic decorations as kids. Plastic Santa, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, candy canes, you name it, if it was a Christmas thing, it was available as a plastic decoration.

Eventually, the use of plastic dwindled and wireframe yard decorations took their place. Thankfully, that phase was short lived and replaced by inflatibles! Now, inflatibles have become a big part of holiday decorating. They offer easy storage when not in use and detailed looks when used.

Driving around town aimlessly can be fun, but with todays technology, there should be a better way, and there is.

A quick look at social media posts by both the City of Hastings and a Private group of citizens shows how much this community wants to share the love this holiday season through light displays.

If you do a quick search on Facebook for “Hastings, MN Holiday Light Display Contest” you will find a page that talks about both light tour maps for Hastings. The entries on their map are just getting put in, 11 so far, but expect that to grow as word spreads. This page is listed as a contest page. It was not clear how they will facilitate that yet, but given the idea behind the page, to spread joy, The Journal is happy to donate a one year subscription as a prize.

The city of Hastings has begun to gather information for their map as well. You can find that at www. hastingsmn.gov/holidaylights or search Facebook for #HastingsMNShines.

We went out and grabbed a few pictures of some of the lights around town this weekend. We know we could devote a whole paper to pictures of all the awesome work that you folks do, so please do not be offended that we did not include yours. Instead, go join both maps listed above and let your awesome neighbors enjoy the work you put it!

The important piece of this whole thing is to remember, your friends and neighbors need you more now than ever before to spread a little joy. We hope you enjoy the brief light tour around Hastings on the next Page. There were many great light displays we couldn’t fit in the paper. Please make sure to follow the maps and see them in person!

Happy Holidays!

If you are upgrading your Holiday lights or have some that are simply no good anymore, please do not put them in the garbage or in your normal recycling bin. Bring them to the joint maintenance facility for recycling! Photo Courtesy of the City of Hastings.