Fall winds and chilly temperatures were no match for festive holiday cheer as crowds of people helped kick off the Lights in Greenawalds Christmas light display Nov. 24 at 2040 Greenawalds Ave., South Whitehall Township.

Mike Yellak, founder and owner of Lights in Greenawalds, worked for about eight weeks to string hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights and arrange all the decorations.

He has been doing this for four years.

“I’ve never known anyone in my life that loves Christmas this much,” Dustin Pastula, a friend of Yellak’s from Hellertown, joked as he pumped up the crowd before the kickoff, “He does this for you to show the love.”

Yellak and Pastula greeted attendees, handed out T-shirts and sweatshirts to awaiting guests gathered on a blocked-off section of Greenawalds Avenue, and led a countdown chant before flipping the switch to turn on the lights, getting the event underway.

Visitors entered the display through a festive archway with lines of LED displays.

They snacked on popcorn, candy and hot chocolate provided by Yellak and volunteers from the concession shed, and took pictures with Santa Claus and the Grinch as Christmas music kept the atmosphere merry.

Yellak was inspired by childhood memories of driving around and looking at Christmas lights throughout his neighborhood to create his community holiday attraction.

Yellak wants Lights in Greenawalds to be open to all visitors, especially those less fortunate, to give everybody the opportunity to experience the holiday spirit.

“When I was a kid, I loved going to see all the decorations, and I didn’t have to pay to see Christmas lights,” Yellak said,

“So I was like, ‘why should anyone have to pay to see Christmas lights and enjoy Christmas?’

“This is all for the community, and has always been for them.

“I will never charge anything, ever, for this is for them to enjoy.”

South Whitehall Township Commissioner-elect Diane Kelly, who was visiting the kickoff show for the first time, admired the positive impact Yellak’s work has had on visitors and the local area.

“His commitment to the community to spread Christmas cheer is so heartwarming,” Kelly said, amid a backdrop of blinking reindeer, Christmas trees and snowflakes. “What he does for the community, does it all himself and spreads joy, it brings the neighborhood together.”

Visitors new and old came to see the holiday event.

Erick Ortiz, a resident of the Dominican Republic, was at Lights in Greenawalds for the first time with some local relatives.

“My cousin’s sons, they find it very, very pretty. All the children love it,” Ortiz said after walking through the Christmas scenery.

Todd Taylor of South Whitehall said he is always excited to see the show.

“It means everything to me, the Christmas spirit every year. It’s like the Super Bowl halftime show,” Taylor said, after touring Lights in Greenawalds with his family.

This year, Taylor’s visit was extra special because his son, who has cerebral palsy, met Santa Claus and loved the colorful lights.

“He was blown away, flabbergasted, by what this guy [Yellak] did, it filled him with the spirit. He was in there saying, ‘thank you Santa, thank you Santa,’ this was really something for him,” Taylor said with a smile.

Not even the Grinch could dampen the holiday atmosphere as the character traded jokes and good-natured pranks with children, Yellak and Santa Claus, and had his photographs taken with visiting families.

Lights in Greenawalds will be open for the community to experience Christmas lights and holiday cheer all season long, until Jan. 5, 2020.