The Bononians went big this year! The community Carols by Candlelight event took place over the weekend. It was a festive celebration for the books, but the Christmas tree stole the show!
Johannesburg, South Africa (02 December 2025) – The Ndlovu Youth Choir, Matthew Mole, along with a line-up of incredible local talent, brought all the festive spirit to the community who showed up in numbers at this year’s Carols by Candelight in Benoni.
Hosted by CMS, Manny’s and Homestead Helpers, the event raised funds for East Rand Palliative Care, SPCA Benoni and the Homestead Helpers NPO, who work to enhance environments and support communities in Benoni and surrounds.
One special feature of this year’s event was the Christmas tree.
The owner of a local store, Manny from Manny’s Hardware Supplies, created a dazzling Christmas tree, lit up from top to bottom.
“This tree has been Manny’s dream for 6–7 years. A dream rooted in his Madeira heritage, where festive magic and community spirit live in every celebration. This year, he chose to bring that dream to life for our Carols by Candlelight event…and what he created was nothing short of breathtaking.” the Homestead Helpers shared.
And it is really beautiful. A set of helping hands were roped in to help build the towering structure. Manny handled every other detail.
“The structure was engineered and constructed by Richard, whose experience and precision made this incredible build possible. Every décor idea — from the lighting to the meaningful symbols — came from Manny himself, crafted with heart and intention. Manny chose each element with purpose: including the cross at the top to symbolise the deeper meaning of the season, along with nativity touches like the lamb, bringing warmth and significance to the display.” the Homstead Helpers shared.
Community members loved it so much that the Homestead Helpers and Manny have decided to leave the tree up for another week. It’s at the Homestead Dam in Benoni, if you’d like to see it in person!
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The images above, shared by Homestead Helpers, were captured by Benoni local Stan Sanetra (S.A. Nice), who volunteered his entire weekend to capture the event on camera.
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