COOLEEMEE ó The rush of the Christmas holidays draws near. Especially for working families, it can easily become a blur. That is why residents in this small town enjoy slowing down on the first Sunday of December to gather as neighbors and remember the holiday’s meaning.
For the 18th year, Cooleemee’s Old-Time Christmas will be held at the Zachary House at 2 p.m. on December 6. It will be a “celebration of community, family and faith,” a town press release said.
“This sort of begins the Christmas season in Cooleemee,” Mayor John Chandler said. “We get to see old friends, meet new neighbors and create memories for our children and grandchildren. It has really become a tradition here.”
There will be plenty of singing Christmas carols and popular songs, a reading of the Biblical story from the book of Luke, the annual Fudge Contest and plenty of hot coffee, punch and homemade cookies.
Chandler says he has received word that Santa will pay a visit during the program, so he asks that parents not only bring their children but also their cameras.
A new Christmas tradition will come to Cooleemee this year. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church will invite all those gathered to join in “Las Posadas,” accompanying Mary and Joseph in their search for a place where the baby Jesus can be born. In Spanish, “Las Posadas” means “The Inns.” After stopping at three houses on Church Street, the procession will end at the historic church where a pi ata filled with candy will be there for the children along with more refreshments in the parish hall.
The Mill House Museum on Cross Street will be open free to the public 3-5 p.m., decorated as it would have been in the early 1930s.
“Everyone is welcome. We hope that Cooleemee elders will utilize the mill house to tell their own grandchildren about Christmas in the old days when money was scarce as hens’ teeth,” Bonnie Byerly, one of the museum’s creators, said in the press release. “We want our children to know that Christmas is all about family, faith and neighbors.”
Do you make awesome fudge? Enter the Fudge Contest! Leave a message at Town Hall for John Chandler at 336-284-2141. Leave your name and phone number so your participation can be confirmed. Plan to make a big pan. Drop it off at the Zachary House on Saturday or bring it no later than 1:30 p.m. on Sunday before the event begins.