There’s Carol of the Bells, the familiar chime of Salvation Army kettles, and of course, the famous quote from It’s a Wonderful Life.
Now bells are taking on a new holiday role fit for a pandemic.
On Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., people worldwide are being asked to go outside on their doorstep or balcony and ring jingle bells for two minutes.
It’s called the Worldwide Christmas Eve Jingle, now a Facebook page followed by nearly half a million people, the idea started with one woman in England.
“The main reason really was for the children so that when they’re older they can look back at this year and say 2020 was a really bad year but on Christmas Eve something magic happened,” said organizer Mary Beggs-Reid in a Facebook video.
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Beggs-Reid says she got the idea from the movie Elf, — when everyone starts singing to raise Christmas spirit and power Santa’s sleigh.
Langford’s Bridget Senyk saw the group online and thought the idea was so great that she made posters to put around her neighbourhood in an effort to get more people on board.
“We all need it, it’s been a very very long year and a lot of hardships for a lot of people and we’d like to sort of celebrate the end of the year with the bells,” she said.
Much like the 7 p.m. cheer for frontline workers earlier in the pandemic, one psychologist says these kinds of events give people who feel isolated a chance to connect.
“I do think this isolation does bring a need for us to feel connected and in any small ways, whether we’re thanking someone else or hearing bells I think we’re thankful for it, we’re connecting to each other, and these connections have become really valuable,” said Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria.
Senyk hopes the sound of her bells this Christmas Eve will make others around her feel less alone.
“They might hear those bells and have a little joy,” she said.
April Lawrence
