With a multitude of holiday events, the Christmas season seems to have flown by this year. I’m not sure if it’s due to Thanksgiving occurring later than usual or life moving faster than it used to, but it’s hard to believe in just one short week it will be Christmas Day.

Vicksburg and Warren County have had plenty of holiday activities to keep residents and tourists busy and the festive spirit alive. There have been multiple Santa sightings, beautiful light displays and holiday open houses at local businesses and shops. There have also been many reminders of the reason behind the Christmas season — the birth of Christ — through live nativity scenes, worship services and religious concerts.

There’s a philanthropic nature behind many of Vicksburg’s Christmas gatherings and parties. ERDC Under the Lights, a community-wide event put on by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, was a beautiful display of lights, interactive stations and live Christmas scenes that could be enjoyed by donating one non-perishable food item that will be given to a local food bank.

At the local Antique Club’s annual December meeting and holiday party, donations were taken in honor of xxx. Anyone who donated $10 or more was sent home with a beautifully wrapped gift bag of bulbs.

And some other local Christmas party hosts have invited guests to enjoy beverages and refreshments in the comfort of decorated homes in exchange for donating canned goods for a local food shelter or dog or cat food for the local animal shelter, just to name a few.

In my opinion, the festive aspect of a Christmas or holiday party makes them some of the most fun to attend, but there is something about knowing your attendance or donation helps others that makes the time spent breaking bread and visiting with friends all the better. It brings you back to the reason behind the season and serves as a good reminder that the privilege of being able to help others is sometimes the greatest blessing of all.

 

Catherine Boone Hadaway is publisher of The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at catherine.hadaway@vicksburgpost.com.