26 torches were lit by teachers Sunday night to represent the 26 students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School whose lives were lost in violent tragedy.
"One can't help but feel sadness, but we want to give them hope, hope that they could have peace," Makefield Elementary School Principal Donna McCormick said.
Dozens of people gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield, the site of a 9/11 memorial to honor the 18 local lives lost in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks 11 years ago.
"The World Trade Center beams are the darkness and inside the memorial is the light, so what we're trying to do is take something that is the darkness, what happened that awful day, and with the candlelight we will create the light and try to help and heal," organizer Valerie Mihalek said.
It was an emotional vigil for some, as parents held their children closely.
"It's been extremely difficult. You can't help but emphasize with a community so similar to our own. When you hear something like that, the first thing you think of is going home and hugging your kids," Glen Schultz of Yardley, Pa. said.
"This is wonderful that so many people came out to be here; it could happen to any one of us," Chris Rearick of Langhorne, Pa. said.
Families tell Action News that after the vigil, they felt a closer bond with their community and their souls felt a little more at peace going into the Christmas holiday.
