Merry Christmas, Greene County
…On behalf of the Greene County Messenger staff, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and offer my sincerest wishes to you and your loved ones that the holidays are good to you and that they bring you many glad tidings of comfort and joy.
We hope that your holiday is filled with much warmth and love, and that you will be able to celebrate the joyous occasion surrounded by family and friends … and that Santa doesn’t bring you lumps of coal that many of us (like me) probably deserve.
(I actually received a wonderful unofficial early Christmas gift from someone who gave me and a buddy two tickets to the Steelers-Patriots game on Dec. 17. It was a great time and I really felt that Santa was going to add to the gift by giving us Black and Gold fans a much-needed victory against the dastardly New England team, but alas — thanks to an extremely controversial call by the refs at the very end of the game — that gift was abruptly taken away from us. But it’s okay, we still had a lot of fun. I just hope Santa does the right thing by giving Patriots coach Bill Belichick, QB Tom Brady and those refs a big ol’ lump of coal in their stocking on Christmas morning, which they truly deserve.)
Dear readers, I must confess that something is really, really wrong with me. Because after dealing with the typical chaos associated with this time of year, I feel that I should be in one of those moods right now where I want to vent my Scrooge-like anger about winter, about the hectic holiday season and how much I can’t wait for spring to roll around. (By the way, we unfortunately have a total of 88 days until next spring. Just thought you should know.)
But you know what? Despite the hectic season, I just can’t be in a bad mood right now, because I think I may have come down with a case of Holiday Spirit. After putting up our Christmas tree, enjoying some eggnog, humming a few carols and getting ready to celebrate a wonderful Christmas with my wife, son and family, I have to admit that the Scrooge in me is warming up.
One of the best Christmas traditions that my family looks forward to each year is the traditional candlelight service at the First Presbyterian Church in Waynesburg, which I have attended every year since I can remember. I always love attending this service … the combination of singing carols, the choir and special music, the heartfelt message and the lighting of the candles just overwhelms me with emotion.
And what makes this service my favorite holiday moment each year is that I am always surrounded by loved ones while being immersed in the true spirit of Christmas. It is this one special part of the holiday that makes me lose my Scrooge, even if it’s just for a little while. And this year’s service will be even more poignant for us, because it will be just the fifth one since my dad’s passing. But we take comfort in the fact that he will be with us in our hearts, and that he would be so happy to see his whole family together in church, celebrating the birth of Christ.
I am also looking forward to this Christmas Eve because it will be the fifth year in which we will continue a very special tradition. In 2012, my parents gave us a very special gift — a beautiful book for Bryson featuring the classic story “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas,” complete with beautiful illustrations. But what makes the book so special is that it is an audiobook, one where you can record your voice reading the words on each page. And then we learned that on Christmas Eve, just days before his passing, my dad — who was very ill and weak and could barely speak — recorded his voice reading the verses of the story, with all of his strength and might.
There are Christmas gifts that are just simply priceless, and this book is one of those gifts. Because we know that every Christmas Eve, we will put Bryson on our laps and let him listen to his “Poppy” tell him the classic Christmas story. We have already played it for him several times, and every time he hears Grandpa’s voice he smiles and his face lights up. In short, Dad is always with Bryson, and he always will be.
So, between the candlelight church service and the reading of “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas,” there is no doubt that Christmas Eve is absolutely my favorite part of the whole holiday season. Because for one special night, it’s a time to forget about the winter weather, the shopping and the chaos, and to remember why we are supposed to celebrate the holiday. In short, it’s about remembering why the word “Christ” is in Christmas.
We here at the Messenger hope that this same Christmas spirit fills your hearts and homes, and we hope that you are able to spend quality time with loved ones. Those are some gifts that should never be returned…
…In addition to wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas, we also wish everyone a Happy – and safe – New Year! And speaking of the New Year: Starting this week, the next few issues of the Messenger is featuring our annual “Year In Review,” where we highlight the biggest stories of the past 12 months. By the time the edition hits the newsstands, we will have spent many hours compiling and condensing the biggest news stories of the year, along with the many photographs that were snapped while covering many of these events.
In compiling this Year in Review, we’ve come to realize that there were many interesting stories that occurred last year in our neck o’ the woods. From tragedies to triumphs, from important news stories to feel-good features about ordinary folks doing extraordinary things, there was no shortage of news in Greene County … and the Messenger was there to cover it all.
We hope you join us for a special look back at the people, places and events that impacted Greene County — in one way or another — throughout 2017…