Christmas Eve

County offices closed Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Berkeley County government offices will be closed Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve after the Berkeley County Commission voted Thursday to give county employees an additional half-day off. In making the decision, the Berkeley County Commission noted Gov. Joe Manchin already had made a similar decision for state employees, meaning state-level offices also will be...

There are many gorgeous lighting displays up around the area this time of year. One tradition my family started several years ago was to go out Christmas Eve and try to find the prettiest and best displays. Now that our twins fly in from Colorado on Christmas Eve, that tradition has been delayed until the day after Christmas. I wonder how many houses use LED (light-emitting diodes) lights on their displays? According to my Sierra Club Insider e-mail (at www.sierraclub.org/holidays)

One man at the Bridge of Life community dinner on Christmas Eve described his holiday situation this way: “I'm right next to homeless and hungry,” said the man, who declined to give his name. He went on to say he has been out of prison for six months, and times on the outside have been tough. The hungry part was satisfied, at least for the time, for that man and about 200 other men, women and children who showed up at the church for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other trimmings, and plentiful desserts.

The Rev. Tom Claggett is no stranger to the Brunswick area. A descendent of the first Episcopal bishop of Maryland, Claggett resides on a farm that has been in his family since 1793. He is a native son of St. Mark's Parish, which includes Grace Episcopal Church in Brunswick. When Bishop Eugene Sutton assigned Claggett to Grace, it was more like a homecoming. Claggett splits his ministry between Grace and St. Paul's in Point of Rocks, Md.   The church also has welcomed the Rev. Anjel Scarborough, who will serve the parish.

tiffanya@herald-mail.com It's now or never for last-minute Christmas shoppers such as Megan Nicholson. "Oh my God, I just started my Christmas shopping and I'm nowhere near finished," Megan, 16, of Hagerstown, said Friday morning at Valley Mall. "I know it's kind of late. I've got two done and like 10 more to go. I'll probably have to come back out on Christmas Eve. " Megan wasn't the only one who waited until the last minute to get her gifts. Christmas Eve is the mall's ninth busiest shopping day, with Friday - two days before Christmas - being the eighth busiest, said Julie Rohm, the mall's property manager.

A week after her college choir sang in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Kat Angle hadn't fully sorted out how the trip affected her. She saw places she read about in the Bible. She took communion at the Mount of Olives. Music, though, was the heart and soul of Angle's tour through Israel and Jordan. Angle, a 2005 Boonsboro High School graduate, is a junior at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. Her college's a cappella choir visited the Middle East with other groups from the South.

WASHINGTON COUNTY karenh@herald-mail.com To guarantee a white Christmas, Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer might have to deliver snow themselves this year from the North Pole. According to AccuWeather meteorologist Ray Martin, this year's odds of Christmas-card weather are slightly better than average. But they are not guaranteed. "This year, we're thinking it's a 40 to 50 percent chance because there's been so much snow so early (that) the pattern seems pretty conducive for more snow," Martin said Sunday.

'Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge' Julie Herbst plays Mrs. Bob Cratchit, a minor character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," in a parody presented by Maryland Ensemble Theatre. Showtimes for "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge" are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, Dec. 31 and Jan. 7; and 8 p.m. Thursdays, Jan. 4 and 11. Performances continue through Saturday, Jan. 13, at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, FSK Hotel, 31 W. Patrick St., Frederick, Md. Tickets cost $15 to $20. For reservations, call 301-694-4744 or go to www.marylandensemble.

'All-new Shake, Rattle and Roll' Music from the 1940s through today will be performed by actors who portray the singers and bands who made the music. Music from The Beatles, Elvis Presley and more. Continues through Saturday, Jan. 20. No show on Christmas Eve. 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with dinner and the show to follow; 1 p.m. Sundays. Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theatre, 44 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. $30. Call 301-739-7469. 'Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge' FREDERICK, Md. - Christopher Durang roasts favorite holiday tales in this riotous parody centered around the Dickens classic.

'Sanders Family Christmas' WINCHESTER, Va. - The Sanders Family returns to Mount Pleasant, N.C. It's Christmas Eve 1941. The show includes more than two dozen Christmas carols, many of them vintage hymns, and yuletide stories. Continues through Saturday, Dec. 23. 2:30 p.m. Saturdays; 7:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets cost $10 to $27. The Old Town Events Center, 403 S. Loudoun St. For information and tickets, call Wayside Theatre box office at 540-869-1776 or go to www.waysidetheatre.