It begins on Friday night, when glimmering luminaria line the roadways in the town’s center, leading down to Ram Pasture, where Hawley Pond is surrounded by these flickering beacons of light. Hundreds of residents will gather there for the annual countdown as the two evergreens strung with lights become bright harbingers of the holiday season. Music, hot cocoa or cider, a couple of cookies, and visitors from the North Pole round out the evening. It is a communal gathering that ranks among the many events in Newtown that make this town special.

Come Saturday, many of those same revelers will be eagerly anticipating the Rotary Pancake Breakfast With Santa, hosted this year by the Rotary Club of Newtown and Parks & Rec, at the Newtown Community Center. The early bird gets the greens at the Garden Club Greenery Sale that morning at the Meeting House on Main Street. The tradition of filling the narthex on a chilly morning, followed by the surge of shoppers into the sanctuary-turned-holiday-craft show, is not to be missed.

Down the street, Friends of the C.H. Booth Library welcome the public to day one of the Holiday Book & Gift Sale, the second big fundraiser for this group that provides essential support to our library. As thoughtfully categorized as the huge summer book sale, this sale is the place to be for book lovers and gift givers, no question about it.

Later in the afternoon, the town’s second big tree lighting draws a crowd of young and old to ring in the holidays in Sandy Hook Center.

But wait — there’s more.

Sunday brings the Newtown Youth and Family Services’ Holiday Festival, sponsored by Newtown Savings Bank, to Main Street. House tours, a Nutcracker performance, a special tea, and the Festival of the Trees are all reasons to buy a ticket for this all-day affair; knowing that your support provides NYFS with funds to bring needed programming and mental health services to residents makes this day a day of fun for the whole family.

Music lovers can be enchanted by the songs of the season presented by the Newtown Choral Society at 4 pm, Sunday afternoon, within the warm (and still lightly pine scented) Newtown Meeting House.

There can never be too many tree lightings, and Hawleyville celebrates Sunday evening at the Barnabas Plaza. Bring an unwrapped gift for the Newtown Fund collection if you will, and link arms with all who are there to celebrate.

What wonders await those who make the most of this holiday weekend? You won’t know, if you don’t go. See page A12 of this issue for the complete rundown.

The days are short. This weekend is a chance to whisk away some of the season’s natural gloom. One person’s ember can light a fire in the community; a community’s involvement will set the season ablaze. Seeing the unity of our town in so many iterations is enough to make us shine every day until Winter closes her eyes and Spring awakens. Happy Holidays!