As per age-old tradition, the Chappy Ferry will operate on an abbreviated schedule on Christmas morning. Starting at 7 a.m., the ferry will operate on the hour at the top of the hour. At noon, the regular continuous operation will begin and run throughout the evening.

Just a decade ago, the ferry ran on the hour through the entirety of Christmas day. But it evolved that by midday the ferry captain didn’t have time to go home anyway after taking over all of the vehicles that were waiting in line when he returned from the previous break. It seems that people got wanderlust once their presents were opened. Parents had a whole week to look forward to of the kids being home from school.

School vacation here on the island starts after a half-day session on Dec. 23. When I was a youngster, we went to school on Christmas Eve if it fell on a weekday. The whole day, too, no less. I recall my mother telling our neighbor that she was forever grateful to the school system for keeping us at school so that she had one more day to get ready for being cooped up with five kids for, at the very least, a nine-day stretch. And that was back when December was actually cold and snowy.

In case you have been procrastinating, there are still 2022 Chappy Community Center calendars available. Order via the Chappaquiddick Community Center website. You will have the option of picking up at the center or getting them mailed to you.