No one in my hometown of Moultrie, Georgia, sits down to an evening meal on the fourth Thursday of November. While many people are still setting the table or getting ready to say what they’re thankful for, the folks in Moultrie and Colquitt County are cleaning up our Thanksgiving spreads and heading downtown to the courthouse square.
Our Small Town Tradition
Growing up in a place where the entire community forgoes Thanksgiving dinner in lieu of an earlier mealtime, it wasn’t until I went off to college that I realized why this was so significant. The origins of this now 90-year tradition are a little murky, but most sources say it began in 1933, when W.E. Aycock, under the direction of C.A. Gill, Chairman of the Water and Light Committee, and J. Frank Norman, City of Moultrie Mayor, strung Christmas lights around the courthouse square. Despite a brief pause during World War II, strands of lights have been hung on Thanksgiving in downtown Moultrie every year since 1947.
What started with Aycock’s four strands has turned into the now-famous Canopy of Lights. These days, city workers start hanging the strands, which start on the clock tower of the courthouse and span nine blocks of downtown, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Then, after a turkey-and-dressing lunch (and in most cases, a nap), the streets fill with thousands of people anxiously awaiting Santa’s spirited 6pm countdown to light the Canopy. It’s a county-wide celebration of the season, complete with pony rides, live music, hot chocolate, children’s activities, and even Santa’s reindeer. It feels like something straight out of a Hallmark movie- minus the snow- this is South Georgia, after all.
“Lights! Lights! Thanksgiving Night!”
The “Lights! Lights! Thanksgiving Night!” event has become a yearly tradition for almost every family in Colquitt County. While there are a few people who opt to stay home, the majority of us come early and stay late to shop our small businesses, visit with neighbors, and celebrate the start of the season. Since getting married, I haven’t made it home for every Thanksgiving like I used to. But when I’m in Moultrie, you can guarantee I’ll be eating my turkey lunch and heading straight to the square…post-nap, of course.