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.

The West Tisbury Congregational Church moves over to the Agricultural Hall once again for a 5 p.m. Christmas Eve service.

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.

An Islandwide attraction, the yearly Christmas display in Edgartown seems to appear overnight, but there’s a method to the magic.

Instead of elves, the town has the Christmas Decorations Committee.

The Vineyard Gazette will hold an informal open house on Friday, Dec. 13 from noon to 3 p.m. at its office at 34 South Summer street in Edgartown.

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.

It’s all green this weekend as the West Tisbury School hosts a fundraiser at the Middletown Nursery on State Road in West Tisbury.

Twenty years ago Norman Lobb bought too many seedlings and Danny Whiting’s family had a fallow farm field. The mistake turned out to be a business opportunity, and this winter they are selling Christmas trees at L&W Farm in West Tisbury.

A mechanical Santa wrote with a quill inside Moonstone Jewelers window, a mannequin fashioned a poinsettia dress in Alley Cat’s and a toy train zipped around photographs of snowy Vineyard days inside Island Art Gallery.

All were admired by the crowds assembled on Main street in Vineyard Haven on Tuesday, but Mix’s storefront — adorned with vintage toys stuffed in coffee cups — earned the best window award, given by four high school art students.