Inside our mailbox was an invitation on a slim, hand-cut piece of paper: Luminary Walk. It contained a date, time, and location, which was a short woodland trail in our neighborhood. On the bottom were the words: light, warmth, hope, welcome, neighbors.

How could we resist? We waited until dark and ventured out into the calm night. An almost-full moon watched our progress, casting shadows on the snow. That was all the light we needed. We didn’t even consider bringing a flashlight.

When we arrived at the trailhead, an alternating path of ice luminaries glowed softly down the length of the trail. As we walked, we noticed some were lit with candles and some with LED lights. Most glimmered with soft, natural light. Others swirled with a riot of color. There were round and rectangular clear ice luminaries, colored square ones, and huge raindrop-shaped ones.

We weren’t sure who was responsible for creating this magic, but it must have been several families, given all the work involved. Halfway down the trail, we met other neighbors enjoying the scene with their dogs. We greeted each other and marveled over the view.

One display looked like a snowy rose: a raindrop luminary in the middle, surrounded with icy petals and lit with a string of white lights. Orange slices, cranberries, and pine needles were embedded in another. Most lay on the snow. One was perched on a log.

We left the trail and walked back home with these words echoing in our heads: light, warmth, hope, welcome, neighbors.