ROCKPORT — Rockport Harbor was glowing Sunday evening, Dec. 10, as hundreds of luminarias lined the village streets and sidewalks, and businesses and galleries threw their doors open to the public.

The town was celebrating its annual Holiday on the Harbor — a day late, thanks to the snow storm of Saturday night, but a day better. The temperatures couldn’t have been nicer, in the low 30s, and a fresh blanket of snow lay over the ground, just enough for children to slide down the harbor hills and make snowmen in the park.

Earlier in the afternoon, Rockport Public Works crews set out the luminaries, those bags of sand containing one candle each, and volunteers, themselves appearing magically from the community, followed along with lighters. At the harbor, Harbor Master Abbie Leonard coordinated with the fireworks crews, headed up by Donnie Heald, to transport them all to the barge.

Music poured from windows and down at Marine Park, Geoff Parker and helpers set up a sound system, with Bing Crosby, his Dreaming of a White Christmas, and all the old holiday carols ringing through evening air.

There was dancing, singing, laughter, snow angels, sliding, and much cozying up next to the warmth of the fire.

And then, just after the Christmas tree was lighted, fireworks exploded over the harbor. Explosions in the sky that cast color and light over the lobster boats that are remaining in the water through the winter.

The annual Rockport Holiday on the Harbor is less about commercialism, and more about celebrating the festive season, when the days are so short, it is left up to imaginative humans to make the long dark nights jolly. They did in Rockport Sunday evening, and then wandered home filled with light.