Annual luminaria celebration on track for Christmas Eve
Downtown Manchester lined with luminaria on a previous Christmas Eve. Mirror file photo.
submitted by Barry Allen, Manchester Lions Club
Each year since the 1960s, the community has turned into a village of lights as the residents of Manchester light their luminaria at sunset on Christmas Eve.
The annual luminaria celebration will return this year with the Manchester Lions Club organizing the holiday tradition since taking over the project from the Manchester Area Historical Society over a decade ago.
The Christmas Eve Luminaria will take place at dusk on Wednesday night, December 24, during which time the residents of Manchester will place their luminaria along their walkways as a symbol of holiday peace.
The celebration has been hosted by numerous organizations over the past five decades until it was passed to the Manchester Lions Club in 2008. The luminaria is a beautiful presentation along the streets of Manchester, which fits nicely with the Lions mission of prevention of blindness and preservation of sight. What better way to demonstrate the gift of sight.
This year the Lions will be selling the kits with drive through service from the garage of the Manchester Area Historical Society building, the Kingsley-Jenter House, on the corner of Main Street and M-52. Luminaria kits consist of a 15-hour votive candle that sits in a cup of sand in a white bag. A set of 10 candles, sand, and bags costs only $5. The price has remained the same for over 10 years. Most homes can use the 10-set kit. “The luminaria project is a public service to the community, so we’ve kept the price at $5 so everyone can participate,” but due to rising costs, last year’s expenses were only offset by the extra donations provided by you. As prices have continued to go up, this year we have gotten a generous donation from many of the participants to help out.
Sales will take place on Christmas week on Monday, December 22, from 4pm to 6pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday (Christmas Eve) from noon to 4pm.
In 2008 luminaria sales were at an all-time low when the Lions took over the project, down from almost 5,000 to less than half, partly due to waning interest and also from inclement weather on Christmas Eve. We’ve rejuvenated the program and are trying to get more families to participate, which is why we’ve kept the cost so low. Many of the legacy traditions of Manchester, the Chicken Broil, the Community Fair, and the luminaria, are in danger without the support of the residents. You have to ask what you would do without them, and realize it’s a possibility they could be gone. Support these longtime traditions to have them here for our children to enjoy for the future.
The Manchester Lions Club sincerely thanks Manchester Aggregate (for the sand), the Manchester Area Historical Society, the Village of Manchester, the Village Merchants, and individual donors for making this event possible.
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