Christmas comes early to Ballymoney

On an ordinarily cold and dark Thursday evening in Ballymoney, an electric buzz of excitement tremored through the crowd who were gathered to witness the switching on of Northern Ireland’s first Christmas lights of 2023.

 

High Street and Main Street were packed with hundreds of locals, old and young, waiting with eager anticipation for the evening ahead. Filling the infrequent gaps in their conversation, familiar upbeat Christmas songs were being piped through loudspeakers. Some would have been hearing these melodies for the first time since last year, others will have had them on for months. 

 

Shops stayed open late for the occasion, welcome sanctuaries from the bleak night air. Their inhabitants appeared blurred behind windows fogged with condensation as, inside, large mugs of hot chocolate and coffee were being passed out. Accompanying these warming drinks, questions of “How’s the family?” were asked by shopkeepers with genuine curiosity. 

 

As the excitement grew to its peak, the friendly voice of Causeway Coast and Glens Mayor Steven Callaghan suddenly cracked through the tannoy. He proudly announced the main event of the evening, The Christmas Parade, setting it on its way with a short speech and a well-wishing of “Merry Christmas, Ballymoney”.

 

It wasn’t long before stilt walkers hobbled past the town hall and into view, reaching out to high-five children with hands that seemed impossibly high in the sky. Not far behind, a 6-foot-tall cow mascot skipped down the street, a nod to the agricultural roots of the area: Coo-town truly living up to its name.

 

Local-legend Michael Dunlop soon followed, resplendent in his iconic blue leathers. He sat aboard his 200-horsepower superbike, which idled quietly in neutral - a welcome focal point for all dads in the crowd.

 

At this point, a much-expected guest to the town arrived and, with his bright red suit contrasting the dark night, waved a white gloved hand to the vast crowds. “Santa!”, a young child called, too distracted by other spectacles to initially notice the iconic sleigh’s approach. Their exclamation was soon echoed by others in a call which would quickly cascade throughout the town.

 

Father Christmas’s night would end in a grotto on Church Street, welcoming nervous, yet excited, children up and onto his lap. No doubt he’ll be back to visit their Ballymoney houses before too long

 

Then, all at once, a blanket of twinkling stars eclipsed the night sky, accompanied by a collective choir of gasps and a pointing of fingers as the Christmas lights sprang into action.

 

And, as the parade swayed out of sight, a sense of community filled the mixture of locals who had independently gathered in the town, brought together with the collective purpose of welcoming Christmas into Ballymoney.