There will be a Christmas in Scotland County after all.
OK, Christmas will fill every household as it usually does before and on Dec. 25, even if the coronavirus suppresses things a bit. We are talking about a planned event coming up in eight days.
Whether we call it Christmas on Main or Christmas Kickoff, it’s basically the same thing. All who choose to visit downtown Laurinburg on Sunday, Nov. 22, will become a part of the Christmas spirit that will ooze between Railroad and Church streets.
The difference will be that there will be fewer attractions this year — such as entertainers — lining the downtown street. But what will remain are still important ingredients to bring folks to a pre-Christmas celebration. There will be sales and specials by many of the businesses, each of which are hoping to breathe new life into their bottom line; there will be vendors who are also trying to make their wares available in any way possible to the public; and there will be food trucks that will make it possible for visitors to stay downtown a bit longer by offering treats.
But there will be something far more important in downtown Laurinburg that day.
People.
There will be your friends, your family and your neighbors. There will be your co-workers, your fellow students and people you haven’t met yet.
Yes, they will — or should — be wearing masks and keeping socially distanced. But if there is anything the coronavirus has stolen from us on a daily basis, it’s the fact that interacting with others has dwindled severely. And we need that.
It’s been eight months. Many of us have had enough of cabin fever. We need something to look forward to. Someone else to look at, to talk to, to laugh with.
We are appreciative that the Laurinburg-Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce took the lessons learned from the recent Fall Festival and applied them to creating an event downtown that will kick-start the Christmas season.
It is our hope that folks will come downtown next Sunday between 1 and 5 p.m. Enjoy what will be offered. Pick up a gift or five from the merchants. View all of the Christmas trees that will be lining the street. And then make a point to remain downtown after dark, when the twinkle and sparkle of lights envelope the street, and let yourself be taken back to a childhood Christmas that has resided only in the far reaches of your memory.
Yes, we can call the event Christmas on Main or Christmas Kickoff. It really doesn’t matter, because (say it with us) … ‘tis the season.
See y’all downtown.
***
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”