For as long as I can remember, they’ve been a highlight of this season. I have to smile whenever my grandkids point with delight at a home transformed by twinkling lights. It seems like only yesterday I was a youngster
For as long as I can remember, they’ve been a highlight of this season.
I have to smile whenever my grandkids point with delight at a home transformed by twinkling lights. It seems like only yesterday I was a youngster doing much the same thing, Actually, holiday lights have brightened my memories for so many years they sometimes seem to run into each other. I have no problem remembering how exciting it was to drive under the strings of Christmas lights that crisscrossed Kapa’a (and Lihu’e and Hanapepe) streets during the holidays years ago. I’m just a bit fuzzy on whether the four boys sitting in the car with me were my brothers or my sons.
Aunty Alice Paik, longtime Kapa’a businesswoman regarded by some as “the” person to ask about Kapa’a’s history — and the mother of my friend and classmate, noted author, Linda Paik Moriarty — says the lights were there when Linda and I were still in school.
Haven Kuboyama of Kapa’a Liquor and Electric Shop agrees, reminding me that it was Wailua’s Harold Bode who did the actual electrical work with the financial and physical support of the Kapa’a business community (including Haven).
But we both seem to recall that the holiday light tradition ended during the energy crisis of 1973 when the nation was asked to cut back on its use of electricity.
It doesn’t matter when the lights went out. I’ve missed them ever since.
There was something so magical about that colorful canopy of lights. It enhanced our anticipation of good things to come.
Like most parents, mine tried to instill the true meaning of Christmas in all of their children. But, like most kids, we often had a hard time visualizing what they were trying to tell us. The presents under our Christmas tree were all we could see.
I don’t know when I “got” the lesson they were trying to teach us. I just know I did. Now when I see the lights of Christmas, whether they’re passing by in a festive parade, surrounding a tree on the Historic County Building lawn or fastened to the eaves of a neighbor’s home, I think about the spirit of the season that fills the people who put them there.
I have so much respect for the generosity of the residents who go all out year after year for the pleasure of their family, friends, neighbors and passing strangers. Many of them spend months checking strings of light, unpacking Christmas decorations, and shopping for additions to their collection before they even start to put them up. That process alone takes hours and hours of work.
And what do they get out of it? A bit of personal satisfaction, a whopping December electricity bill, and the certainty that it’s all going to have to come down in a few short weeks.
Still they do it so that the rest of us can enjoy it. That, in my book, is the essence of unselfishness.
The multitude of people responsible for the Christmas light display at the County Building is led by Josie Chansky, whose years of sharing the spirit of Christmas began on Kealia Drive on O’ahu.
That’s where the home of Joe and Josie Chansky was so renowned, television crews filmed it nearly every year and people brought their children from all around the island just to see the spectacular display year after year.
The Chanskys packed up kit and caboodle and Christmas lights years ago and continued their holiday tradition on Kawaihau Road until health problems forced them to stop. Fortunately, the Chansky collection lives on at the County Building for all to see.
I also commend everyone involved in the Lights on Rice parade. These unselfish volunteers spend nearly the entire year planning, coordinating and putting together this festive event. This year’s parade was such a treat for hundreds of spectators, young and old, who crowded Lihu’e to get a glimpse.
Those who put effort and energy into creating the floats and vehicles that paraded up Rice Street on their way to the County Building also deserve to be applauded. There were no cash prizes; just the prestige of knowing your company or organization did a great job enjoyed by countless people.
I’ve also heard businesses and individuals donated over a quarter ton of candy to be handed out. Amazing.
Kudos should also go out to the resorts and businesses who share the spirit of the season by decorating their properties and storefronts. I love the icicle lights that dangle from so many rooftops all over the island and the colors that sparkle in bushes and trees everywhere you look.
No matter where they are, the amount of goodwill generated is not determined by the size of these displays. Just knowing these people made an effort to share the season with others is the thing that counts the most, especially today on Christmas Day.
This is the time for unselfish giving, love and spirituality. It’s a time to embrace your faith, hug your family, and reach out to good friends. It’s the time when residents and visitors reach deep into their hearts and come up with donations to help make Christmas brighter for needy families.
This is also the time when folks sit around and share their hopes and dreams and bring out their memories of the good ole days, whether they happened in Kapa’a or Kekaha, Hanapepe or Hanalei, Washington or Wyoming.
It’s a time to listen to your favorite music of the season. For me, it’s Willie K’s “O Holy Night.” Here’s wishing a special Merry Christmas to all of you. May the spirit of the season twinkle in your hearts.
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for Willie K.
Rita De Silva can be reached at 245-3681, Ext. 241 or e-mail, rdesilva@pulitzer.net.
