On Wednesday, Dec. 3, Oak Bluffs officially begins the countdown to Christmas with the annual lighting of the tree at Post Office Square. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m.
A full moon hung in the December sky this week, casting long shards of light across the darkened landscape of oncoming winter. Hours before sunrise, pale moonbeams shone through the glass panes of a west-facing kitchen door, a silent accompaniment to the small task of grinding fresh coffee. It is called the cold moon this month, and fittingly the Island has been wrapped in bitter cold, its landscape covered with a paper-thin crust of snow.
When we embark on our Advent pilgrimage we are heading toward Christmas, a familiar destination. But the patterns and traditions of Christmases past may tug us too quickly to that day. The West Tisbury Congregational Church minister reflects.
It is approximately 471 strides, done at a leisurely saunter, from the steps of the Harbor View Hotel to the steps of the Edgartown Lighthouse. While this may seem like useless trivia, it is actually a Christmas in Edgartown public service announcement.
Thanksgiving is but a poor tired drumstick now as we look ahead to the holiday season. Whether you lean toward the pew or the jolly old elf, a time to reflect or a time to give gifts, the Christmas tree or the menorah, the month of December is a flat out celebration.
They are teachers, plumbers, bankers, artists, fishermen, scallopers, shopkeepers, retirees and twenty-somethings. And while all of these roles are important, this weekend the key characteristic that binds this seemingly disparate group is that they sing.
