A Town Is Celebrating Christmas In October For The Most Heartwarming Reason

Even as we write this, our eyes are welling up. Some might bemoan talk of festive celebrations in October, but may think twice after reading this. An entire Canadian town has celebrated Christmas in October for a young boy who has terminal brain cancer.

Seven-year-old Evan Leversage was diagnosed with inoperable cancer at the age of two. However, doctors have told his family he may not live until December.

The town of St. George, in Ontario, decided that there was no way the little one was going to miss the magic of Christmas, so everyone decided to chip in and help create the magic for Evan. And so this weekend he was visited by none other than Santa himself as the entire town worked to create a truly special Christmas for the brave young boy.

Evan has been battling brain cancer for five years. His family said they were overwhelmed by the response from their town – and from the gifts and messages that have reached them from all over the world, according to CBC.

“Many times I have told people [that] Evan is my inspiration,” his mother, Nicole Wellwood, told CBC News. “The whole wide world became my inspiration this weekend.”

Evan’s mother explained that when the family learned that their son’s brain tumour had spread, they decided to celebrate the holidays early this year, at the suggestion of their doctors.

How cool is this: Evan Leversage with Santa in St. George at Xmas parade. #Evan #HamOnt #lightsonforevan pic.twitter.com/3ingCwnPH0

? Barry Gray (@_barrygray_) October 25, 2015

About 7,000 people joined Saturday’s celebrations, more than double the population of the small town. They lined Evan’s street, cheering as he passed by the light-strewn houses next to Santa in his sleigh.

“This has brought a lot of amazing people into my life,” Wellwood said. “I’ve had a lot of other gold ribbon families (the gold ribbons symbolise childhood cancer) reach out to me with stories about their children.”

She added that the highlight for her son was the amazing town Christmas parade. The smile that got from Evan, he lit right up,” his mother said. “But I think our biggest memory will be the amount of people who came out and supported us.”

It’s such an incredible story and a truly fantastic example of just how wonderful others can be. We hope Evan and his family had the most magical Christmas.

Via CBC