ORLANDO, Fla. — One Orlando couple is shining thousands of lights through this dark time.

Through a holiday display, they’re reflecting on both the ups and downs of the past year.

David Nubar and Frank Boyce bust out their beach chairs, and sit right smack in the middle of a strong holiday tradition they’ve built together. 

“Little by little I started decorating," said Nubar. "And then every year it got a little bit, little bit, little bit more, and then here we go.”

Nubar has fond memories of decorating his childhood home in Winter Park with his father.

Boyce's love of holiday decorating started with a Christmas village he put together with his family.

 It didn't take long into their relationship for the couple to realize they had a love of Christmas festivities in common.

Then the couple decided to share their mutual love of Christmas, through a carefully strung out display, that takes a full month of full-time work to construct.

 “I guess we have a following." Nubar said.

"There are so many people that come night after night after night," Boyce added. "And we talk to everybody.”

The holiday house decorating tradition continues this year, but it takes on new meaning due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“I actually had it at the end of September for 3 weeks. It was pretty rough," said Boyce, who fought the disease for 3 weeks before recovering.

The couple quickly decided how their home would come to life, and light, in part as a tribute to the victims of COVID-19.

A sign in their yard explains the meaning.

“And so when I made the sign and I put it up and said hey you know what, we’re dedicating this year to all the lives lost," said Nubar. "So they’re gone, but there’s a light, that was your mom, that was your dad, that was your sister your brother your daughter and son. And each one of them is in a light. So we just decided to bring them back.”

They say every night is a reminder of the beauty and the sadness families feel.

“They tell us their stories of how they couldn’t say goodbye,” Nubar said.

In the middle of that thought, a woman drove by, rolled down her window and said, "Thank you. My mom is dying this week of COVID. Thank you."

To which Nubar replied, “She’s here baby, she’s here."

"She's a light," Boyce said.

There are more than 220,000 lights here, but the work is not done. 

Nubar and Boyce say they’ll keep adding lights to honor the memories of those who’ve died from COVID-19.

 So in dark times, they hope families will look at these lights in awe and remember these lives, and their memories, will shine on.