Charles Dickens once said this about Christmas: "I have always thought Christmas time, when it has come around, as a good time; a kind forgivable, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and woman are seemingly of one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on another journey."

 It is true in our community and country that at this Christmas time, these are surely not the best of times.

 We have been encouraged and made proud that, in spite of their own short falls, hundreds of our readers have rallied to share their Christmas blessings with their neighbors.

 We are secure this year in our belief that more than 2,000 years ago each of us was blessed with a gift, in spite of any current hard times, that keeps giving and giving.

 That gift from our God was his son, who truly was and is the light of the world and nobody except ourselves can take that gift away from us.

 Our staff has worked hard this year to produce 156 fresh copies of The Covington News; we are proud of all of them.

 We wish our staff’s families, as well as yours, the most precious and loving of Christmas days.

 We have no doubt the strength we receive from the spirit of Christmas will sustain us for the coming year.

 Merry Christmas from all of us here at The Covington News and CovNews.com, we wish you and your family a most happy and peaceful holiday.