Madison Greene was named the 2022 Little Miss Spirit of Christmas.

A third grade student at St. Jerome Regional School in Hometown, she received the most votes during a balloting period held from Hope & Coffee in Tamaqua and online.

Contestants in third to fifth grades at local schools submitted essays explaining “What the Spirit of Christmas Means to Me.”

The essays were on display along with the girls’ photographs during the two-week voting period.

Greene wrote, “The spirit of Christmas means to me by helping people and giving thanks to the Lord our God.”

She is the daughter of Arlin and Allicia Greene of West Penn Township.

Little Miss Spirit will participate in the activities scheduled for the Spirit of Christmas Festival from Dec. 1-4 at various Tamaqua sites.

All contestants will participate in the Santa parade, Depot Square Park Lighting and “Meet and Greet” with Santa beginning at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at the gazebo at Depot Square Park.

Other participants and their essays are as follows:

• Elyse Farrell, Tamaqua Elementary - “What Little Miss Spirit of Christmas means to me is I can make people happy and it is fun for me.”

• Olivia Miller, West Penn Elementary - “It is spending time with my family and not about gifts. This is important to me because some people are not as fortunate.”

• Madeline Peters, West Penn Elementary - “Christmas spirit means helping others and giving them things they need. It makes people feel good because to them that means people care about them.”

• Sophia Shirvinski, Tamaqua Elementary - “Christmas is a magical time of the year filled with giving and spending time with family and friends. A time for laughter, happiness and love.”

For more information on the Annual Spirit of Christmas Festival, visit Tamaqua Spirit of Christmas Facebook page or call the Tamaqua Community Arts Center at 570-668-1192.