Maybe it was the tree lighting in Washington Square that did it; or the holiday boat parade over Thanksgiving weekend. Or maybe it was the stories we’ve heard of people anonymously paying for gifts placed on law away at department stores across the country.
Whatever it was, we hope that this year, as you settle in with friends and family to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, that the spirit of the season has inspired you.
And while the recent row over whether to refer to the towering green conifer at the State House as a Christmas tree, a "holiday" tree, or something else entirely has shown us that even in a season of peace we are not immune to rancor, we shouldn't lose sight of the true meaning of this time of year.
Perhaps it was Dickens who said it best through the voice of Scrooge's nephew in his timeless "A Christmas Carol," when he wrote,
"...I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'"
With that in mind, we at Newport This Week and Newport Now would like to wish you and your family a very heartfelt Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.
Here's to also hoping that the spirit of the season carries on well into the New Year, for even Scrooge learned how to keep Christmas in his heart.
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Unfortunately, the economy has once again taken its toll on many of our friends and neighbors this year. As we did last year at this time, below you'll find listed a short directory of the area's food pantries and meal sites. Give them a call; see if you can lend a hand.
Meal Sites
Martin Luther King Meal Site 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd., 846-4828, Breakfast M-F 8:30 am - 9:30 am
St. Josephs Soup Kitchen 5 Mann Ave., 847-0065 (rectory), Mon. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Salvation Army of Newport, 51 Memorial Blvd., 846-3234, Fri. 4-4:45 p.m. and Sun. 5-5:45 p.m.
Food Pantries
Salvation Army of Newport, 51 Memorial Blvd., 846-3234, Mon., Wed., Fri., 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Martin Luther King Center 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd., 846-4828
Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
East Bay CAP, 19 Broadway 847-7821 x-212
Mon.,11 am - 4 pm; Tues., 9 am - 2 pm; Wed. 1- 6:30 pm
Community Baptist Church, 40 Dr Marcus Wheatland Blvd., 847-1707
2nd and 4th Saturday, 2-4 p.m.
St. Joseph's Church Food Pantry 5 Mann Ave., 401-847 0065 (rectory)
Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Newport Residents Council 1 York St., 848-3218, Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. -4:30 p.m.; Wed. & Sat. 5-7 p.m. by apt. only
