(The Center Square) — Many towns in Illinois that are known for getting into the holiday spirit this time of year, and even with a COVID-19 pandemic, that spirit shines on.
During this pandemic, many Illinois towns have altered the way they celebrate Christmas. Community events like parades and Christmas gatherings have been canceled for revised to promote social distancing.
Tricia Herrera, executive director of the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, said this year’s Christmas parade was changed because of the pandemic.
“This year we changed it up a little and did a “reverse” parade so the cars with the viewers moved and the floats stayed stationary, so it was COVID friendly,” Herrera said.
The website www.onlyinyourstate.com has listed the top Illinois Christmas towns. Some that made the list in addition to Rochelle include Chicago, Galena, Alton, Effingham, Canton and Monticello.
Shelly Crawford-Stock from the Monticello Chamber of Commerce says town’s history with trains plays into the Christmas nostalgia.
“We are very lucky and fortunate to have kinda a neat entity outside of town as the Monticello Railway Museum and they love Christmas as much as Monticello residents do,” she said.
AAA said while those who choose to travel can still expect traffic, it won’t be as bad as in years past. AAA said it expected overall Christmas travel to be down 29% this year, with about 81 million Americans traveling over the holidays, most of them by car.
For those heading out to get into the holiday spirit, the website “Enjoy Illinois” lists some of the best Christmas light displays in the state. They include Christmas Wonderland in Alton, Festival of Lights in East Peoria and the Shelbyville Festival of Lights.
