Bright holiday displays illuminate the snow in Vancouver overnight on Dec. 24. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)
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As Christmas Eve day dawns in Vancouver, timed holiday lights flicker off.
But overnight reporter Gian Paolo Mendoza spent the dark hours visiting shelters in search of images that capture the holiday glow.
At midnight, Vancouver's residential streets gleam with rain and laser snowflakes.
Behind closed doors on other streets sometimes a free loaf of bread and a warm couch offer the light of kindness.
Bill Scriver usually lives in a tent near the Olympic Village but enjoyed the warmth at Creekside Community Centre, a respite from the cold in the wee hours of early Dec. 24. (Gian Paolo Mendoza)
Towering fir tree festooned with Christmas lights in Vancouver. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)
Get a free loaf of break at the community centre, open to those in need Dec. 24. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)
Holiday lights in Vancouver. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)
A bounty of lights on a lawn in Vancouver on Dec. 24.
The lights of Christmas include this glowing heat fan at the Creekside Community Centre where people who have nowhere to go can warm up.
