Season's Greetings: Holiday Lights Lifting Spirits During Pandemic
CALABASAS (CBSLA) -- Christmas music played as cars crept through a beautiful display of more than one million lights, equipped with gingerbread men, decorative trees, and much more at holiday road in Calabasas.
"Just the happiness and jolliness of it people need to celebrate more and appreciate family and friends and get out there and have fun together safely," said visitor Karen Page.
Karen Page is one of the dozens of folks who showed up the opening night to get a dose of much-needed cheer when many are coping with the loss and tragedy brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
While celebrations have changed at the King Gillette Ranch to adhere to social distancing and coronavirus protocols, the cheer has remained the same.
"It's a very big team of all industry veterans that have come together to create the show and we've been working around the clock to get this done and open for everyone to enjoy and have a little more joy this holiday season than we currently have," said co-owner Ben Biscotti.
Christmas light displays like this are sure to brighten people's spirits during this pandemic. And experts say focusing on tapping into your holiday cheer is vital during a time like this.
Therapist John Tsilimparis says although this holiday is like no other we've seen when it comes to having to social distance and not seeing close relatives, it's important to try and keep as much tradition as possible and be flexible with the changes.
"This year it's obviously gonna be very different and the stress and the isolation will be different and there's gonna be people who won't be able to see their families," Tsilimparis said. "It's okay for me not to travel this year cause we need to be safe and it's ok for me not to spend a lot of money and there's a lot of permission-giving to pull back and say just for this year, just for this year, t's temporary."
