RSS Feed
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tree lighting ushers in Christmas
But the Christmas spirit was evident Friday in downtown Murphy as the annual Christmas Tree Lighting was held at Pocket Park. Just after dark, coated revelers waited for the festivities to begin. Kids from the Learning Center were clad in Santa hats and reindeer antlers. The kids were milling around, jumping, chattering and waiting to perform. Diane Crowder got everyone in the Christmas frame of mind as she started the program singing about chestnuts roasting over an open fire. She got the kids and adults in the spirit by getting them to join in on Happy Birthday Jesus. The Learning Center chorus entertained the appreciative crowd with several songs. Murphy Mayor Bill Hughes had the important duty of throwing the switch to turn on the lights for the town Christmas tree, which is about 24-feet tall. Hughes said he had been practicing throwing the proper switch to turn on the lights. He joked that they painted the switch blue so he would get it right. The mayor did his job and the lights cut through the early Murphy, night darkness. Later, the mayor described his light switch ability, saying "It's all in the thumb action". Adults seemed to be just as enchanted as the kids when Santa Claus arrived on the back of a Murphy Volunteer Fire Department engine. Santa waded into the crowd of youngsters, who immediately engulfed him. Santa took time to shake hands and hug as many as wanted to see him. After the festivities, people surged into downtown stores to do some early Christmas shopping. The Corner Candy Store seemed to be a favorite as some kids went for ice cream, even though the evening was beginning to get a little chilly. "I believe this is the largest crowd I've seen," Mayor Hughes said of the Christmas Tree Lighting event. |
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)