{"id":44203,"date":"2024-11-19T14:19:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T12:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/hoping-for-a-miracle-fish-hoek-rallies-to-reunite-christmas-lights-family-20241119\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T23:09:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:09:01","slug":"hoping-for-a-miracle-fish-hoek-rallies-to-reunite-christmas-lights-family-20241119","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/hoping-for-a-miracle-fish-hoek-rallies-to-reunite-christmas-lights-family-20241119\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hoping for a miracle\u2019: Fish Hoek rallies to reunite Christmas lights family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Haines family, known for their dazzling Fish Hoek Christmas light displays, faces separation due to emigration challenges. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emily Haines is stuck in the USA while her husband and children remain in South Africa. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The community has rallied to support them with a Back-a-Buddy campaign to reunite them for Christmas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Fish Hoek residents are standing together to reunite a beloved family, who through the years brought much joy and laughter to the community with their magical Christmas lights displays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2017, Emily Haines and her husband Matthew would take weeks to unbox up to 200 000 Christmas lights they lovingly collected over the years (\u201cMore than 200 000 lights go on display\u201d, <span>People\u2019s Post<\/span>, 6 December 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div contenteditable=\"false\" data-embed24=\"Images\" data-pos=\"middle\" id=\"embed_3bf806ba\">\n<div class=\"slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-smallsrc=\"https:\/\/cdn.24.co.za\/files\/Cms\/General\/d\/12428\/152717fd888f47e3a27c06535f237de9.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8c1eb7f6ab9458cb7a216c88536de28.jpg\" title=\"This year, for the first time, the Christmas lights will not be on display at the Haines family home in Fish Hoek. PHOTO: Supplied\"><p><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\">This year, for the first time, the Christmas lights will not be on display at the Haines family home in Fish Hoek. PHOTO: Supplied<\/div>\n<div class=\"img_accreditation\"><span class=\"source\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><span class=\"photographer\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Emily announced that she was stuck in the United States of America(USA) with her only wish being to reunite with her family for Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is with a very heavy heart that I report that we, unfortunately, will not be doing the lights display this year. Life has really thrown us for a loop and it\u2019s just not feasible for us to do the display,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI am stuck in America while my husband and children are in South Africa\u2026 we don\u2019t know when we will be able to reunite as a family. We are hoping to just be together for Christmas, praying for a little Christmas miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-emigration-issues\">Emigration issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew claimed that the Department of Home Affairs had not granted his wife permanent residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause of emigration issues the Department of Home Affairs has not been able to grant my wife her permanent residency and it looks like it will only happen in a couple of years and she needs to work,\u201d he said. \u201cUnfortunately, we don\u2019t have a choice, our hand is being forced because the department can\u2019t get their stuff together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reminiscing about the first time they moved to Fish Hoek, Matthew said the community was very warm and welcoming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe reason we started the Christmas lights display was because the community was so welcoming to us, the newbies from America. The whole community made us feel at home, so it was our way of giving back and saying thank you for the warm reception in Fish Hoek.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Residents reacted with sadness at the news that the lights would not be turned on this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThank you for the joy that your festive decorations have given to so many. May you have a peaceful and happily united family Christmas together,\u201d a resident wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-christmas-miracle\">Christmas miracle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another resident wrote: \u201cOh no, so sorry. We will sure miss you this year but really hope you receive your Christmas miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emily\u2019s social media post touched the community which prompted resident James Moore to start a back-a-buddy campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor years, the Haines family have brought so much joy to our neighbourhood with their stunning Christmas light displays, these magical moments brought us together and made the holiday season brighter for all of us,\u201d he said. \u201cThey need our help facing these challenging times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s show them the same love and warmth they\u2019ve shown us over the years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The back-a-buddy campaign which has a goal of R20 000, reached R18 600 by yesterday (18 November).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For more info go to <\/strong><a title=\"www.backabuddy.co.za\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backabuddy.co.za\/campaign\/lights-on-lady-grey-haines?fbclid=IwY2xjawGkB7xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQx3Qc0kOU3-8ppXiNY8q76_AiHcexAhpR32ytWf3zbA8bzxayKmo0qQ3Q_aem_t22pB9IPvfLOG9Niv5q4GA\"><strong>https:\/\/www.backabuddy.co.za\/campaign\/lights-on-lady-grey-haines<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fish Hoek residents are standing together to reunite a beloved family, who through the years brought much joy and laughter to the community with their magical Christmas lights 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