The practice of cheering every night for healthcare workers and first responders is a worldwide phenomenon, one that has found its way to Long Beach.

How it got here, no one’s too sure. Was it organic, did someone help organize it? We asked around and got a name or two, but no one could say for certain and, of course, it’s not really about the people cheering, anyways, but the people being cheered.

And the people who risk their well-being to keep us safe are being cheered, the practice having been fully, loudly embraced all over the city, from Downtown high-risers to neighborhood houses. And the displays seem to build each successive evening, not just in volume but variety as cheers have been joined by music and dancing as well as sound and lighting effects ranging from flicking the switch on and off to full-on disco and laserium (ask your folks, kids) displays.

Let’s hear it!