Celebrating a Holiday Tradition
By: Laurie Monteforte
Updated: November 21, 2012
Scranton, Lackawanna County - The holiday season marched into Scranton with a troop of toy soldiers Wednesday night.
The dancers from the Ballet Theater of Scranton kicked off The annual "Holiday Times" celebration presented by the "Scranton Times"
Thousands of people packed the downtown streets. They danced to a band, enjoyed tasty treats, and checked out giant Christmas window displays.
It's all part of a tradition generations in the making. The Scranton Times first transformed the radio tower on top of the building into a Christmas tree 53 years ago. Gary Charette remembered, "I was a kid then. Then I brought my kids. Now I got the Granddaughter."
When Charette was a boy, the lighting didn't involve a big party. But three years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the event, the Times had a celebration. It started a new tradition.
Christine Cravitts attended with her son and nieces this year. She smiled,"I think it's nice that they've seen their grandparents do it, their mom and dad do it, and now they get to do it."
