A single string of Christmas lights on a Baltimore County street started it all.
Kim Morton received a text from her neighbor who lives across the road, while she was watching a movie with her daughter. She was told to look outside.
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The Rodgers Forge neighborhood is just north of the Baltimore city line and Matt Riggs hung a string of white Christmas lights there. He left a tin of cookies on her doorstep.
He told her that the lights were meant to reinforce that they were always connected.
"I was reaching out to Kim to make her feel better," said Riggs.
He knew his neighbor was going through a tough time. Morton shared that she was dealing with depression and anxiety. She was grieving the loss of a loved one and struggling with work related stress. panic attacks were caused by the mounting pressure.
He could relate.
There areemic holiday scenes from around the world.
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The holiday traditions of cities around the world were modified in 2021.
He said that by the end of the year he was just beside himself and that it was difficult for a lot of us.
He didn't think that his one strand of Christmas lights would spark a neighborhood-wide movement, but he decided that a bit of brightness was in order.
In the days that followed, neighbors stretched Christmas lights from one side of the street to the other.
When she saw what Riggs had done, she wanted in.
She said she told her neighbor to do it. We were cleaning out Home Depot before we knew it.
Other neighbors caught on.
"The neighborhood started doing it little by little," said Morton, who has lived in Rodgers Forge for 17 years. The lights were a sign of love and connection.
They were shocked to see neighbors with ladders and drills on their rooftops hanging lights from trees. For the first time in a long time, a feeling of togetherness and light had returned after they were mostly masked and at a distance.
It was all organic, that's what blows my mind. It happened. There was no plan. Everybody's desire for beauty and joy grew out of it.
Seeing his neighbors adopt his idea brought tears to my eyes. It became this event from a small act.
He said that even though he was initially trying to support Morton, "it turns out we all needed this."
A woman who lives on the same block with her family was due for an outing.
It was a difficult time. She said that they were all struggling in their own way. She wanted to participate when she saw what he had done.
DiMuzio took her contribution to the next level. She decided to include a message on her string of lights.
She said she is a go-big-or-go- home kind of person. I stayed up all night bending coat hooks. It was crazy, but it worked.
DiMuzio and her wife were considering moving to a new area because they wanted a bigger yard and more space. The couple decided to stay after seeing how the neighborhood came together to support one of their own.
"You're not going to find this community just anywhere," DiMuzio said, estimating that of the hundreds of red-brick rowhouses that make up the neighborhood, at least 75% of residents participated in the entirely impromptu light display.
The area was lined with lights and each block had its own character. Some showcased classic white lights, while others chose colorful or twinkly bulbs.
A middle school teacher who lives on Murdock Road with her husband and two children, quickly got on board.
"It was amazing," said Wilberton, who recently shared the story on Facebook. "It just blossomed into this amazing community effort."
She said it was the best neighborhood. Everybody is friendly and helpful.
The sea of light is what symbolizes that.
He said that it really does represent a connection. This is a very special neighborhood, and this is a physical representation of that.
The neighborhood agreed to do the display again this year and every year after that, because it was so deeply resonated with them.
Rodgers Forge residents hung their lights together.
"We made a party of it," he said.
To make their homes more secure, neighbors attached light strands to metal cable wires and drilled anchor into the brick of their homes. They added more signs that said "dream" and "believe" to go along with the original "love lives here" motto.
"It's been a bright spot, really," he said.
The person for whom it was intended to have the most profound impact has been the most affected by the impromptu effort.
Morton said it made him look up, above all the things that were dragging him down. "It was light pushing the darkness away."
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