tree lighting

Yesterday was our first time, as a family, going to a cultural function where there was fireworks. It is called the annual "tree lighting" ceremony. The local radio and tv station puts it on and they have two hours of a program (different bands, the gospel message being shared through Scripture or other artistic avenues, speakers, etc...). It felt to us like the 4th of July because of the warmer weather and the outdoors type of event.

The top photo is of the group of us that went. And the next one is the stage where all the performers did their thing. As I took these photos and the night became darker I had not realized the amount of people that actually came to this event. Before I knew it I stood up and looked behind me (well into the evening) and there were probably about 10,000 people who had joined in, way past the amount of chairs, and were piled on top of each other in the back. So many crowded around that for a moment, I was a a bit panicky.

The next photo is just at the beginning of the night (before it even started) people who had come early enough to claim the chairs. Which we apparently had gotten there at that time as well. I am so glad to. As the night was coming to the close and it was getting time to "light" the star for the tree and end with the firework show, people in the back started lighting their own fireworks and throwing them into the crowd. For a moment (about 45 minutes) there was a constant prayer going on in my head, just in case. I could tell that my kids were becoming a bit anxious as well due to the fact there would not have been a way to work though the crowd behind us to remove ourselves if we so chose.

All in all, that moment escaped us and the Lord provided a great firework show for our whole family to see. It really was beautiful with the band playing in the background. John and I had to chuckle at the culture of it because as much as we LOVED the closeness of the fireworks, we had a deeper understanding of the safety hazards that were taking place at the same time. But, our kids have never been to the USA fireworks (at least not that they remember) so it is not like they would know the difference. It just might be a shocker to see how far away people could be to the "show" and still see them..... but we will tackle that another day.

P.S. Oh I forgot to mention, before the Best act of the night, they introduced Sarah as having her 12th birthday and really made her feel special as she stood up and about 10,000 people waved to her and said happy birthday. She was then given a Santa's hat, some biscuits and a dedicated dance just for her. It really was super fun to experience with such a crowd.