 There are plans to make the ceremony an annual event |
The festive season has come early to Soweto, but for many residents it was long overdue. For the first time in the famous township's 100-year history, Christmas lights were switched on.
The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, performed the honours, flicking the switch to illuminate an enormous 11m (36 foot) Christmas tree.
The ceremony at Thokoza Park delighted young and old alike and was preceded by a music concert.
Soweto, which lies south-west of Johannesburg, is celebrating its centenary year in 2004.
It was effectively founded when tens of thousands of Johannesburg's black residents were sent there from the city centre by white authorities imposing segregation.
It has been home to leaders such as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, and saw bloody riots in the 1970s during the struggle against white minority rule. Now it is home to about 3.5 million people and is being seen as a model of hope for South Africa as a whole in the post-apartheid era.
Mr Masondo said he planned to make the lighting ceremony an annual event.
"Really it's about restoring the dignity of people," he said.
"It's about sending a message out there that much as we are worried about hard issues as government, we are also equally as worried about issues that relates to warming the hearts of our people, lifting their spirits and ensuring that they can relate to the future in a much, much more positive manner than has been the case, say in the past."
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It's about restoring the dignity of people
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