Coronavirus: People are putting up Christmas lights to bring joy amid social distancing

Hallmark Channel is also bringing back its Christmas movie marathon

People are putting up Christmas decorations to spread cheer during coronavirus outbreak (Stock)

From quarantined neighbours joining one another in song from their balconies to an app that connects people around the world, communities are doing what they can to spread joy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As individuals continue to practise social distancing in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, the latest trend has seen Americans putting up Christmas decorations.

The idea was first suggested by sports broadcaster Lane Grindle, who shared the idea on Twitter as an entertaining activity that those social distancing can still enjoy.

He tweeted: “What if we all put our Christmas lights back up? Then we could get in the car and drive around and look at them. That seems like a fair social distancing activity.”

The tweet, which has since been liked more than 2,000 times, was met with support from people across the US.

“Love this idea. Spread cheer!” one person wrote.

Another responded: “Thank you for this great idea at a dark time!” alongside a photo of their lit Christmas decorations.

Grindle wasn’t the only one to suggest the idea of spreading holiday cheer amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday, a father from Rhode Island tweeted: “My youngest son was bored today and said: ‘Can we put Christmas lights on our tree outside to cheer us up?’ Great idea buddy. Lights are on tonight as a sign of hope and the sweet mind of my 10 year old,” along with a picture of his decorations.

Numerous other people across the country have since replaced their Christmas decorations as well, prompting the hashtags #Christmaslights and #ChristmasinMarch to trend on Twitter.

Holiday decorations aren’t the only Christmas tradition that has been revived as a way of lifting people’s spirits amid the coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, Hallmark Channel announced that it would be bringing back its marathon of Christmas movies this weekend as a way to spread holiday cheer and keep people entertained.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the movie marathon will begin at 12pm EST on Friday and continue until Sunday at 6pm.

You can find the full schedule here.