Ten minutes after the switch was flipped lighting up Mexico’s first ever Magic Tree, a young boy – a late arrival to the scene – rushed across the courthouse grass.

“It’s so cool,” he exclaimed before pointing out the different colors for his parents.

The Magic Tree was intended to bring a little holiday cheer back to the downtown square after the usual celebrations – Santa Claus, the Christmas parade – were canceled due to the pandemic. Speeches, singing and a dance performance were planned to make the lighting ceremony last Wednesday worthy of the season.

But COVID-19 has a way of throwing wrenches. There were no presentations, no caroling, no dancing.

No matter.

“It’s really pretty,” said Kambria Furlong, a child who watched the display. “It was cool to see it turn on.”

Young Makenzie Meeks called the heavily strung tree “beautiful” and fitting of the Christmas spirit, a season she says she loves.

A creation of the Village Square Association, the Magic Tree is based on a longstanding Columbia tradition. What had been conceived of as a community gathering turned into a textbook event for the year of COVID-19. Families parked on the square to watch the lights come on. Those who ventured out did so respectfully, approaching the tree one group at a time.

“I think it turned out well considering how much we had to cancel,” observed April Thomas, owner of The Sparkly Pig and a member of Village Square Association. “People were really good.”

Instead of pomp, there was a simple countdown shouted in the dark. And then there was light – lots of light and color.

“When it turned on, ‘oh the lights are beautiful,’” said Addyson Flowers, a young girl who came out to witness the event with her family.

Kara Wieberg brought her children to see the Magic Tree and take pictures. She said the kids knew what to expect – “We’ve been to the one in Columbia” – but were still dazzled. Wieberg pointed out they used words like “sparkly,” “amazing” and the word of the night, “beautiful.”

The man responsible for the original magic tree in Columbia calls it a “senseless act of beauty” designed to bring joy. Will Treelighter – the name he uses – wrapped lights around a crabapple tree in his front lawn back in 1995. It grew to be such a sensation he had to move to a location with more parking and seating area, setting up in Columbia’s Cherry Hill neighborhood in 2010.

Last year the tree involved more than 64,000 lights.

Since the magic tree phenomenon began, other communities have started their own.

Mexico’s tree is not tall. It’s nothing more than a planting on the Audrain County Courthouse lawn wrapped in ornamental lights. For those who attended the lighting, however, it was a mark of Christmas spirit – an act of beauty with a purpose. And Thomas plans to do it again.

“Oh, absolutely,” she said. “We have to.”