Jan 2001
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Luminarias light up Sharbot LakeBy David Brison The streets of Sharbot Lake were framed with the warm glow of lighted candles on Christmas Eve. The candles were placed in white paper bags and 1000 of them were spaced every six to eight feet on both sides of the road on a circular route through the town.
Cathy and Dave Saban, owners of the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, think that they have started a new tradition. They had a good start in their first display. Local residents gathered to walk the lighted streets and then went back to the Country Inn for punch and snacks. Churchgoers had a surprise treat for their Christmas Eve services.
Cathy and Dave, who lived in Montreal before buying the Inn, got the idea from the Quebec community of Hudson St. Lazare. In St Lazare, homeowners set up the candles in front of their houses and the whole community is aglow with the soft, warm light.
The custom of Luminarias comes from Mexico and has been in existence many years in New Mexico before spreading to communities throughout the United States and Canada. A luminaria is a candle set into a small paper bag weighted with sand. The Pueblo peoples in New Mexico had a similar custom - they lighted small fires outside their homes, called a farolito, to light their way to church on Christmas Eve.
Cathy and Dave, with the help of family and friends, started assembling the 1000 luminarias at 10:00 a.m. and by 3:00 p.m. were putting them out on the roads. They started lighting them at 6:00 p.m. so they could be ready for the first church services.
"It took us just about an hour to get them all lit. I wasn't sure that we would get them done for the first service, but we did", said Cathy. "Next year we would like to have homeowners set up their own displays so that the whole town could be lit up", she continued.
Another group in town had their own display. Susan Wing, assisted by Gwen Sutherland and her husband Suds, framed the Thompson Circle on the hill overlooking the Lake near the Sharbot Lake Beech with 42 candles set in brown paper bags.
Rosemarie Bowick, the driving force behind the very successful Festival of Trees event, and Cathy Saban are both hopeful that they have stared customs that will make the area a special place to be during the Christmas season in years to come.
