Holiday Lights Brighten Life During Coronavirus Pandemic
2021-12-25
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1Businesses around the country are creating complex and costly light shows to spread happiness this holiday season.
2From Maine to California, more and more light shows have been set up during the coronavirus pandemic.
3They are more complex than ever, with many bright and sparkling lights.
4"They're exploding because people are looking for something to do. That has been a boom for this business," said Wayne Wheeler.
5His company, Reindeers Incorporated, imports lights and other equipment used in the professionally produced shows.
6Lighting displays during the holidays have long been an American tradition.
7People often drive through neighborhoods to look at the colorful lights.
8The professional productions take it to another level, with hundreds of thousands of lights, synchronized music, animated props, and other lights.
9The pandemic appears to have made light shows more popular in America.
10And commercial light shows have been showing up in fair grounds, farms, zoos, and parking lots, some in the industry said.
11Enjoying outdoor lights on foot, or from inside a car, is a safe activity while COVID-19 infection numbers are rising.
12Ticketing is often done online, and tickets can be electronically confirmed through a car window.
13E.J. Dean is the creator of the first "Maine Celebration of Lights" at the Cumberland Fair Grounds.
14He said he created the event to keep his workers employed after the pandemic almost closed his business.
15His company provides park rides and games, all of which were canceled in 2020.
16Inventor Thomas Edison is credited with creating the first string of lightbulbs in 1880.
17In 1923, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge started a new tradition by lighting the National Christmas Tree with 2,500 electric lights.
18The tradition started getting popular after that.
19Most major cities have one or more light shows.
20Large events designed to be seen from cars are now popular.
21The "Big Bright Light Show" in Rochester, Michigan, covers a big part of the town.
22The "Winter Light Spectacular" at the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Pennsylvania had performances for children by Disney characters.
23Both have more than 1 million lights.
24Light shows are also becoming costly.
25For Texas-based Extreme Lightscapes, the average budget for a holiday light show with music is $500,000.
26"Everybody continues to try to outdo each other in terms of size, scope, and technological complexity," said company head Darren Vader.
27Such events are run by businesses, nonprofit organizations and cities.
28Many of the operators, however, started with shows at their homes before deciding to get into the business, said Matt Reed.
29He is with Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Products.
30The Arizona-based business provides lights for companies and cities.
31"You feel a difference when there's a lot of love behind the project," he said.
32"It's not just a job for them."
33I'm Dan Novak.
1Businesses around the country are creating complex and costly light shows to spread happiness this holiday season. 2From Maine to California, more and more light shows have been set up during the coronavirus pandemic. They are more complex than ever, with many bright and sparkling lights. 3"They're exploding because people are looking for something to do. That has been a boom for this business," said Wayne Wheeler. His company, Reindeers Incorporated, imports lights and other equipment used in the professionally produced shows. 4Lighting displays during the holidays have long been an American tradition. People often drive through neighborhoods to look at the colorful lights. The professional productions take it to another level, with hundreds of thousands of lights, synchronized music, animated props, and other lights. 5The pandemic appears to have made light shows more popular in America. And commercial light shows have been showing up in fair grounds, farms, zoos, and parking lots, some in the industry said. 6Enjoying outdoor lights on foot, or from inside a car, is a safe activity while COVID-19 infection numbers are rising. Ticketing is often done online, and tickets can be electronically confirmed through a car window. 7E.J. Dean is the creator of the first "Maine Celebration of Lights" at the Cumberland Fair Grounds. 8He said he created the event to keep his workers employed after the pandemic almost closed his business. His company provides park rides and games, all of which were canceled in 2020. 9Inventor Thomas Edison is credited with creating the first string of lightbulbs in 1880. In 1923, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge started a new tradition by lighting the National Christmas Tree with 2,500 electric lights. The tradition started getting popular after that. 10Most major cities have one or more light shows. Large events designed to be seen from cars are now popular. 11The "Big Bright Light Show" in Rochester, Michigan, covers a big part of the town. The "Winter Light Spectacular" at the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Pennsylvania had performances for children by Disney characters. Both have more than 1 million lights. 12Light shows are also becoming costly. For Texas-based Extreme Lightscapes, the average budget for a holiday light show with music is $500,000. 13"Everybody continues to try to outdo each other in terms of size, scope, and technological complexity," said company head Darren Vader. 14Such events are run by businesses, nonprofit organizations and cities. 15Many of the operators, however, started with shows at their homes before deciding to get into the business, said Matt Reed. He is with Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Products. The Arizona-based business provides lights for companies and cities. 16"You feel a difference when there's a lot of love behind the project," he said. "It's not just a job for them." 17I'm Dan Novak. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. a was the editor. 19_________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21sparkling - adj. shining with or reflecting bright points of light 22boom - n. a rapid growth of business 23synchronized - adj. to cause (things) to agree in time or to make (things) happen at the same time and speed 24prop - n. an object that is used by a performer or actor or that is used to create a desired effect in a scene on a stage, in a movie 25commercial - adj. concerned with earning money 26fair - n. a large public event at which there are various kinds of competitions, games, rides, and entertainment 27character - n. a person or being who appears in a story, book, play, movie or television show 28scope - n. the area that is included in or dealt with by something=