People Are Placing Rainbows In Their Windows & Adding Them To This Map To Spread Hope

People all across the globe are finding ways to connect with each other while also staying apart during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For example, every night at 7 p.m., New Yorkers have been cheering for health care workers from their windows. And in Italy, people have been singing from their balconies while quarantined. And from the United States to Europe and beyond, people have been adding rainbows placed in their windows to this map that's connecting folks all over the world.

Images of rainbows cropping up in windows during lockdown first came about in Italy back in March, when children across the country painted rainbows and hung them in their windows and from their apartment porches to remind people that "everything will be alright." The idea of sharing rainbows in windows as messages of hope has really taken off across the planet, particularly in New York City, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

The uplifting rainbow movement was eventually picked up in Brooklyn, New York by a mom named named Marisa Migdal who was looking for ways to keep her kids feeling positive. According to The Bklyner, she decided to make rainbow posters and suggested to moms in her Facebook group that they take their kids on "rainbow hunts," at which point another mom named Anna Grotzky decided to come up with a map to make this hunt easier.

Grotzky then created the Rainbow Connection map on Google Maps to help families find where rainbows were displayed, and the map quickly stretched far beyond Brooklyn. To date, there are more than 3,500 rainbows pinned to the map across the globe.

To add your own rainbow to the map:

• Go to this link on Google Maps
• Type your address in the search bar to the right
• Click the blue magnifying glass icon
• Click "Add to the map" to mark your location

If you want to share any additional information, you can then click "Edit" to add whatever you might like to share.

Anna Grotsky told The Bklyner that she was surprised how quickly the map took off. But then again, rainbows are pretty much exactly what everyone needs these days. "A rainbow is magical to people — you don’t get to see one every day," Grotsky told the outlet. "So now, being able to go out and see them every day gives everybody a little sense of hope, a little sense of connection — a little sense of magic." Who doesn't want to add their own little bit of magic to the world right now?

If you think you’re showing symptoms of coronavirus, which include fever, shortness of breath, and cough, call your doctor before going to get tested. If you’re anxious about the virus’s spread in your community, visit the CDC for up-to-date information and resources, or seek out mental health support. You can find all of Romper’s parents + coronavirus coverage here, and Bustle’s constantly updated, general “what to know about coronavirus” here.