On Christmas Eve, people driving through Benton Twp. saw more than 6 miles of road illuminated by thousands of glowing milk jugs, lighting the way to three local churches.
The jugs, filled with candles or glow sticks, "light the way for the Lord," said the tradition's founder, Bill Tyriw.
Mr. Tyriw was inspired by a similar display in Wayne County and wanted his congregation, East Benton United Methodist Church, to be part of a new tradition.
The first year was hard. Collecting enough old milk and water jugs to line 2 miles of road was difficult, and so was setting everything up with just about 10 people. But when the community reacted to the luminaires in such a positive way, it was a tradition that Mr. Tyriw knew needed to continue.
"When people saw what it looked like at night while they were out driving, we got a lot of compliments," he said.
Now Montdale United Methodist Church and St. John Vianney Parish also participate, lining miles of road with the jugs, too, helping to light a small chunk of Benton Twp. in holiday cheer.
Setup begins around 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve, when 50 to 60 people from the various congregations break off into teams of four to six people on a trailer, lining the roads with the plastic jugs with help from local fire and police departments to direct traffic, said Ken Noldy, a participating member of the Montdale United Methodist Church.
About 3,000 plastic jugs are filled with sand, a light fixture is inserted, and they are placed about 30 feet apart, with the setup complete before 4 p.m. services start.
The illuminated containers line the driveways of the churches, bringing people in to celebrate the holiday with their congregation, the twinkling lights a symbol of where Christmas got its name.
"They represent Christ. It really is a beautiful thing," Mr. Noldy said. "It runs in conjunction with the living Nativity. As the church service ends, people come out to light the candles and sing during the Nativity."
When the last service ends at 11 p.m., the crews go back out on the road and pick up all the jugs so when Christmas morning comes, there's no evidence the lights were ever there.
"Every year it grows because more people find out about it," Mr. Noldy said. "People are coming to our area to see this."
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter