_{MaryBeth Peterson and Misty Schaffer, Hilltowns Community Resource Center, Westerlo}

Learning about our culture, and teaching our youth their history, can help them to not only understand the past but shape a more humane society.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo students from Spain, Colombia, and Brazil all come from Catholic countries but have various holiday traditions.

“Santa’s here, Santa’s here!” screamed the children gathered by the train track in Altamont as Santa rolled into town, culminating the annual Victorian Holiday Celebration. Inside the boxcar, tots whispered their wishes to the jolly old elf.

Residents of Medusa and Voorheesville looked up at their Christmas trees together as their branches lit up for the season.

“Think of Christmas as a magical time, a time of rebirth, a time of rekindled friendships,” said Reverend Warren Beeman of the United Church of Christ in Medusa.

ALTAMONT — The Altamont Community Tradition organization will host its 12th annual Victorian Holiday Celebration in the village next weekend, offering house tours, shopping, wine tastings, and a visit from Santa.