• Holiday season Holiday season The 2003 Christmas season is upon us. This year, with a late Thanksgiving, Christmas is coming quicker than usual. Signs of the season abound. Post offices are packed with those sending packages off to family
• Holiday season
Holiday season
The 2003 Christmas season is upon us.
This year, with a late Thanksgiving, Christmas is coming quicker than usual.
Signs of the season abound. Post offices are packed with those sending packages off to family and friends on the Mainland and in foreign countries, some to children and family serving our country in faraway Iraq and Afghanistan.
The annual Festival of Lights went off without a power failure, even though the massive light displays both on the floats and on the trees fronting the historic County Building looked like they needed their own power plant. Watch for the event to be featured soon on the Arts and Entertainment cable station as one of the top small-town Christmas parades in the United States. The Princeville Resort served up holiday cheer on Saturday night and lit their trees and hotel up for the Christmas season, as well as hosting guests from across Kaua’i to a fun night of holiday treats and music. Coming up is the Waimea town Christmas parade, which is even more down-home than the Lihu’e parade.
It seems more homes are lit up this Christmas season, with some well-done exhibits of Christmas lights and figurines. A unique Christmas light rainbow spotted in Lihu’e comes to mind.
Shoppers are out in force on Kaua’i this year, reflecting our strong economy, and visitors are arriving early this year for their holiday stays, reflecting an upbeat economy on the Mainland, and even a hopeful turn of events in Japan, where times have been hard. Job-seekers are fortunate, too, with cruise lines looking for hundreds of workers, our unemployment rate dipping down, and a bonanza of construction jobs on the horizon due to a massive federal building program aimed at Hawai’i. The season is looking bright.
Our weather is turning Christmas-like, too. Unlike recent holiday seasons, this year our sub-tropical weather is seasonably chilly at times, with a few tastes of north winds, heavy rains and even a thundershower due to the occasional Kona-wind day.
Perhaps the biggest threat ahead of us is a potential influx of influenza. Flu shots are recommended, especially this year, when a deadly rash of flu cases has already struck the Mainland.
Those wishing to give this Christmas are advised to check out our daily reports from the Zonta Club. The Garden Island and Zonta work together each holiday season to fulfill special Christmas wishes from the island’s most needy. This wonderful program receives donations from across the Mainland, sent in by visitors and readers of www.KauaiWorld.com, the Web site of The Garden Island.
All told, this holiday season is gearing up to be a memorable one, one to be thankful for, and a time to share your holiday aloha with friends and families, as well as the needy in our community.
