Every year, visitors and residents alike get a nice visual treat while driving or walking down Burrard Street. It is the annual Christmas light display at the front of St. Paul’s hospital.

It seems to take them a couple of weeks to put everything up, and they start early, like around Halloween. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that many of the lights may have already been up and running in the middle of November. Yes, they like to get into the Christmas spirit early, but at least it’s not the day immediately after Halloween as they do at many stores and shopping malls.

Besides being an extravagant light show to get everyone’s attention, the lights also serve another purpose. It is called “Lights of Hope” because the display also raises money for the hospital. According to the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation Web site, the campaign has raised more than 12 million dollars for the hospital since it began 12 years ago. If you go there and look at the lights up close, you can see that most of them are in the shape of stars with the names of sponsors inside them.

Here are some pictures that were taken today with my cell phone. They are not the best quality, but should give you a good idea. I’ll try to post a video clip of how it looks at night so you can see how some of the lights flash.

St. Paul's Hospital, late afternoon

St. Paul's Hospital, late afternoon

St. Paul's Hospital, night time

St. Paul's Hospital, night time

For more information about the Lights of Hope at St. Paul’s Hospital, check out the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation website.