Season of Joy: Parishes build community spirit; check out these special events this Christmas season

From Italian cooking classes to musical performances and elaborate displays, this Christmas season offers something for all in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

It’s all a labor of love for those involved in arranging, organizing and building the things that bring Christmas joy to the area each year. Those involved with the displays and events agree it is a terrific way to build community connections while spreading Christmas spirit.

Sharon Burke, a lifelong parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas in Hampden, has been part of one of the area’s most renowned displays – the “Miracle on 34th Street” – since its start 34 years ago. She said when she and a neighbor, Bob Hosier, noticed not as many commercial properties were decorating for Christmas, the 34th Street neighbors increased their displays. A new tradition was born and spread once the displays caught the eye of a local television reporter.

“It’s all about spreading Christmas joy,” said Burke, 78, who has lived on 34th Street all but two years of her life.

This year, her son helped her string lights and put up displays of igloos, penguins and a kissing ball, and the neighbors assisted her with the more-demanding lights strung from higher points. The lights, which have attracted an estimated 80,000 visitors some seasons, turn on this year Nov. 25 and will stay lit until after the New Year.

Burke says the displays frequently draw visitors from as far away as Europe and Asia, noting that it is the first place many exchange students attending Johns Hopkins University bring their visiting parents for the holidays.

“It’s just great to see the joy on everyone’s faces, from the kids to the seniors,” Burke said.

Displays and events throughout much of the archdiocese might not be as renowned as the one on 34th Street, but organizers maintain the same focus and spirit.

“It reinforces what Christmas is all about,” said Drew Forrester, the director of outreach at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baynesville. IHM plans to host its second live nativity display Dec. 9 at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. with the parish’s children performing a reenactment of the Christmas story while the parish’s adults serve free hot chocolate and cookies.

“It’s something for the entire community,” said Forrester, who said the event includes Christmas carols. “It’s a great way to get people in the holiday spirit and share the real meaning of Christmas.”

Some of that holiday spirit combines Christmas with community giving.

Colleen Daly Eberhardt, the artistic director of Christmas at St. Louis, said the 18th annual musical event in Clarksville has become a community tradition, bringing in hundreds of donations. The free concert Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. includes a full orchestra and chorus as well as guest soloist and two choirs.

St. Louis parishioners gather donations at the event for the food pantry at Howard Community College, which services students living below the poverty level.

“We raised nearly 500 pounds of food last year,” Eberhardt said. “The focus is equal parts building community and spreading Christmas cheer. The concert is of such high excellence that it has become a family tradition for many in the area.”

Firehouses in Dundalk have been spreading Christmas cheer since the 1920s with an impressive model-train display and Christmas garden. Other than once for the pandemic, the display has been held since 1981 at Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company.

The fire company starts putting the display together in early October and it is open for viewing from the first weekend after Thanksgiving until the weekend after the New Year.

“It’s a great Dundalk tradition,” said Bob Frances, a St. Bartholomew, Manchester, parishioner and father of five who is the public information officer for the fire company. “It’s a focal point for the community during Christmas.”

Frances said the fire company mixes in a little fire-prevention training when guests visit. The fire company also puts together a Santa Claus tour of the surrounding community.

The model-train exhibit, believed to be the largest in the state, covers more than 1,100 square feet with as many as eight separate tracks running at a time. Some years the exhibit attracts as many as 50,000 guests.

Frances said that including the year-round maintenance of the trains, the exhibit takes more than 2,000 hours to put together.

He said firefighters look forward to putting in extra volunteer hours each year to brighten the holidays for the community.

“Everybody comes together,” Frances said. “It’s a yearlong process. We actually start planning next year’s display before this one comes down.”

As everyone hustles to get their displays built and events planned, back on 34th Street in Hampden, Sharon Burke said, “It’s important to remember the reason we have the season is for Christ.”

Miracle on 34th Street moments

St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner Sharon Burke likes to relay two of her favorite stories from 33 years of taking part in the lights display on 34th Street in Hampden.

Burke said one moment that touched her heart was when a 10-year-old boy asked to come inside the gate to her yard so that he could better explain the sights to his visually impaired 8-year-old sister. Burke said the boy tenderly ran his sister’s hands over a reindeer display and described its look so that his sister could have a better understanding of the Christmas display. To Burke, the boy’s kindness toward his sister still resonates each Christmas season.

Burke and her late husband, Donald, once unwittingly played matchmakers. The Burkes teased a young man into giving a woman a peck on the cheek in front of their Christmas kissing ball display. They found out the next year that the couple hadn’t known each other before the peck, but the chance holiday kiss sparked a romance. A year later, the couple were engaged and invited the Burkes to their wedding.

Christmas events, displays

Here is a sampling of events throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore:

Merriweather Symphony of Lights: Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia; Nov. 23-Jan. 1; Visitors can see more than 300,000 bulbs while either walking or driving through the display route; $25 per vehicle with proceeds benefiting Howard County General Hospital; merriweatherlights.com

Miracle on 34th Street: 700 block of West 34th Street, Baltimore; Nov. 25-Jan. 2, evenings; Hampden neighborhood of North Baltimore showcases elaborate lights display; free

Firehouse Train Display: Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company, 214 Wise Ave., Dundalk; Nov. 25-Jan.7, 6-9 p.m. weekdays, noon-9 p.m. weekends; train displays and Christmas garden; free; wavfc.org/train-garden.php

Polar Express: B&O Railroad Museum, 901 W. Pratt St., Baltimore; Nov. 24-26, Dec. 1-3, 8-10 and 15-19; Train rides aboard the Polar Express at the birthplace of American railroading; $52-70; 410-752-2490, borail.org

Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees: Maryland State Fairgrounds’ Cow Palace, 2200 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium; Nov. 24-26, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; benefits patients and students of Kennedy Krieger, features include designer-decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses on display and for sale; gift boutiques; games; activities; food; an online auction and raffle; and live entertainment; $18 ($13 seniors, $8 children); kennedykrieger.org/festivaloftrees/tickets

Inner Harbor Christmas Village: West Shore Park, 501 Light St., Baltimore; Nov. 18-Dec. 24, noon to 8 p.m. (until 9 p.m. Friday/Saturday); Baltimore’s Inner Harbor hosts its 10th anniversary outdoor and indoor German Christmas festival with crafts, vendors, food and more; baltimore-christmas.com

Christmas Bazaar: St Thomas Aquinas Church, 1008 W. 37th St., Baltimore. Dec. 1 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Dec. 2 (4-8 p.m.); gift tables, wheels of chance, raffles, baked goods and candy tables. Food available to eat in or carry out; 410-366-4488, aquinasbmore.org

Advent Market Celebration and Live Nativity: St. John the Evangelist, 689 Ritchie Hwy., Severna Park; Dec. 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (market) and 6:15-7:30 p.m. (live Nativity); Advent wreaths and handmade crafts will be available along with live music and caroling; also features food trucks, kids’ crafts, a petting zoo, pony rides and Santa; https://bit.ly/sp-2023christmas

Italian Christmas Cookie-Making Lessons: Pandola Learning Center, 914 Stiles St., Baltimore; Dec. 2, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.;  instructors include Nancy Barbieri Wolfe, Mary Ann Barbieri, Owen and Celeste DiFerdinando Hughes; $25; pandolalearningcenter.org

Libertytown Advent/Christmas Events: St. Peter the Apostle, 9201 Green Valley Road, Libertytown; Breakfast with Santa Dec. 2, 9-11:30 a.m.; Advent Family Adventure, Dec. 9, 1-5 p.m.; and a Christmas program of readings and songs, Dec. 17, 4 p.m., followed by the live Nativity;
301-898-5111

Breakfast: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez church hall, 10800 Old Court Road, Woodstock. Dec. 3, 8:30 a.m.-noon; In addition to pancakes and sausage, activities include a silent auction with gift baskets coordinated by religious education classes, a bake sale, a workshop for the kids to make holiday crafts, photo opportunities with Santa and guessing jars contests; $6 per person, under 6 free

Pikesville Christmas Events: St. Charles Borromeo, 101 Church Lane, Pikesville; concert of “Lessons and Carols” Dec. 3, 3 p.m., to help celebrate its 175th anniversary; on the third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 17, St. Charles Borromeo will celebrate Bambinelli Sunday; 410-486-5400

Live Nativity Scene: Immaculate Heart of Mary, 8501 Loch Raven Blvd., Towson. Dec. 9, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. IHM hosts its second live Nativity; free hot chocolate and cookies; 410-663-4357

Winter Wonderland Craft Fair: Bel Air Armory, 37 N. Main St., Bel Air. Dec. 9, noon-9 p.m.; features gift items from dozens of local artists and craft makers; train garden and carriage rides; christmasbelair.com

Greccio Experience: Archbishop Curley High School, 3701 Sinclair Lane, Baltimore; Dec. 10, 7 p.m.; freshman class presents its Greccio Experience, a live Nativity program; free; archbishopcurley.org/2022/12/grecchio

Christmas Festival: Baltimore Basilica, 409 Cathedral St., Baltimore; Dec. 14, 7:30-9 p.m.; Catholic Charities presents Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Morgan State University Choir; reception; $125; cc-md.org/christmasfestival2023

Drive-Through Display in Hagerstown: St. Ann, 1525 Oak Hill Ave., Hagerstown; Dec. 15, 7-8:30 p.m.; Display includes stations for hot chocolate or cider, photo opportunity with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus in the stable and giveaway tables; free; donations for the food bank are accepted; display also available for viewing Dec. 3-Jan. 7.

Tuba Christmas Baltimore Concert: Inner Harbor, 561 Light St., Baltimore; Dec. 16, 3:30 p.m.; free;  facebook.com/TUBAltimore

Odenton Christmas Fair: St. Joseph, 1283 Odenton Road, Odenton; Dec. 16, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; annual fair and bazaar; 410-674-9238

Children’s Musical: St. Gabriel Church’s school hall, 6950 Dogwood Road, Windsor Mill; Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m.; Christmas Around the World, a fundraising concert and dinner in the school hall; tickets required; stgabrielch.org, 410-944-2106.

Christmas at St. Louis: St. Louis, 12500 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville; Dec. 17, 4 p.m.; featuring the St. Louis Concert Chorus, Orchestra of St. Louis and guest soloists performing carols, holiday classics and contemporary favorites. Donations of nonperishable items will be collected to benefit the Howard Community College “Fueling Dragons’’ food pantry; stlconcertseries.org

Lessons and Carols: Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N. Charles St., Homeland; Dec. 17, 5 p.m.; Cathedral Choir presents a Service of Lessons and Carols; free; http://cathedralofmary.org/events/lessons-carols

Concert: St. John the Evangelist Church, 13305 Long Green Pike, Hydes; Dec. 20, 7 p.m.; Music
Ministry presents “Home for the Holidays”; free; 410-592-6206

Handel’s Messiah: Baltimore Basilica, 409 Cathedral St., Baltimore; Dec. 16, 3 p.m.; Handel’s Messiah will be conducted by Maestro Edward Polochick, featuring the Baltimore Basilica Festival Orchestra and Chorus; $50-65 (under 13 free but registration required); americasfirstcathedral.org/handels-messiah

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@catholicreview.org

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