The holiday spirit has been on display throughout Ellenville and Wawarsing this year as events celebrating the area's Jewish and Christian communities abounded.

* * *

Last Tuesday, a crowd of over fifty people gathered in Ellenville's Liberty Square on a cold night to mark the first night of Chanukah. Rabbis Moshe Frank and Shea Hecht presided over the evening's festivities, passing out candles and singing songs.

Wawarsing Town Justice Wayne Lonstein was invited to read a Chanukah prayer and light the menorah's first candle.

"A small candle can dispel a lot of darkness. We light these candles to remind ourselves that we can dispel the darkness with our actions," said Rabbi Frank.

Hecht and Frank offered the adults potato latkes with applesauce, cider and coffee while the kids received dreidels, Chanukah gelt and a variety of toys.

* * *

Last week, the Ellenville Street Department got a little help from the Scoresby Fire Company when they needed to raise the massive Christmas tree in Liberty Square.

George Budd, a street department employee, realized that he and his coworkers were going to have a difficult time raising the tree with their own equipment so Budd, a longtime volunteer firefighter, took the quick walk to the firehouse and brought down a ladder truck.

Within minutes, the street department workers were hoisting the massive evergreen into place as passersby stopped to watch the sight and catch some holiday cheer.

* * *

On Saturday, the Ellenville-Wawarsing Youth Commission and the Napanoch Fire Department hosted a tree lighting in Napanoch and arranged for a special visit from Santa Claus so boys and girls could tell him what was on their Christmas lists. Nearly a hundred children piled into the Napanoch Fire House to wait for a chance to tell the man in the red suit just how good they were this year.

Earlier, Santa was seen driving around Wawarsing, courtesy of the area's firefighters. Santa drove through area neighborhoods all afternoon as he brought a little Christmas cheer to local streets.

* * *

Wawarsing's holiday spirit will continue to stay bright with holiday concerts and plays; Ellenville's second annual Holiday Sing will take place on Saturday, December 22.

Look for more festivities listed in the Ellenville Journal's Calendar of Events.

COMMENTS about this article (11)