For a lot of people, 2020 has been a year filled with darkness. So lighting up his home for Christmas is his attempt to lighten the load, says Gareth Lingens of Weltevreden Park, Roodepoort.

Even the extra money — about an additional R1,700 for electricity during this month — does not dim his enthusiasm.

“The house makes people forget about their problems for a little while. Luckily, people behave very responsibly and have been respectful of our property and our space, they wear masks and observe social distancing,” he said.

A few kilometres away, on Albert Street in Weltevreden Park, an electricity bill brings scant concern as Jennifer Friend and her family power their Christmas lights with sun power.

Her family started the solar tradition roughly six years ago, sourcing décor items from various places around SA and even the US.

“About 98% of our lights and décor is either solar-powered or battery-operated, so we don't draw a lot of electricity at all. We are very conscious about the power grid and that is why we decided that the majority of our stuff be solar,” Friend said.

Her family uses the proceeds of the donations from visitors to a well-known charity, Friends of Rescued Animals (Fora).

“This year being our first doing something like this has taken a lot of effort — three and a half weeks — and tears, but when the children and even parents, grandparents and caregivers walk in and you hear their laughter and their compliments, the smiles, the happiness and love, then you know it is all worth it.

“We try to do things differently by giving the children and adults candyfloss and popcorn at no charge to make it a little more special. We also have a Santa mailbox and ask that the kiddies write a letter to Santa to which he will respond,” she said.

'It's all about the memories'

The Lingens have been putting up their extravagant light displays for the past 10  years. While they cannot remember how the tradition started, they say Christmas  has become the most memorable time of the year for them.

“I'll never forget the reactions and smiles of adults and children alike when we had only a few lights,” Lingens said. “It's all about the memories. I want our children to never forget the magic of Christmas and have their days filled with light.”

The preparation begins in the middle of October “and we work every weekend until we switch on on December 1".

“This year I’ve had five guys helping me with putting the lights and decorations up, and the combined hours have been more than 200. We used more than 4,000m of cable,” Lingens said.

The house stays lit for three hours every night.

“People turn up in droves with their families, friends and bring picnic baskets. Some walk around and view the house. Some camp outside with blankets and wait for the lights to go on and enjoy themselves.”

The family tradition not only touches those who visit but reaches other initiatives supported by the Lingens. “We receive donations and pass them on to a cancer initiative, we also receive books and gifts and donate them to the security company that looks after our house.”

Said Lingens: “If I were to ask my children or anyone in my family what Christmas means to them, they would say it’s the birth of Jesus Christ. Our message is to bring love and light to the world, especially this year.”

TimesLIVE