ROCKPORT — The initial date for Rockport’s annual Holiday on the Harbor, with its full regalia fireworks show, was set for Dec.11, but bad weather pushed it ahead to Dec. 12. That didn’t work, however, because the winds were blowing too hard.

So, a new date, Dec. 19, was set. But as that Sunday approached, it was evident a snowstorm was bearing down on the coast. The decision was made: Reschedule the fireworks to Dec. 31, 2021 – New Year’s Eve.

It turned out, that was the best course of action, despite the Friday afternoon concerns about the banks of fog rolling in and out of then harbor. Would the fireworks get blanked out by the fog, as has happened in years past?

Not at all. There was fog, enough to make it hard to see the outer harbor, but not thick enough to obscure the air just above the inner harbor.

Temperatures were mild, patches of ice were wrangled down with sand and salt, and traffic, while a steady flow just before 5:30 p.m., subsided. People found parking places and hundreds made it to various points around the harbor — Marine Park, the Goose River Bridge, the commercial fisheries parking lot — and waited.

Suddenly, a countdown was heard by the Christmas tree, and when a great cheer went up, so did the first explosion in the sky.

For 20 minutes, the show went on, thanks to George and Andy Fields and Steve Willis, who were on the float setting off the fireworks, and to Donnie Heald for his continued support of the event. The fireworks have the foundational support of Charlton Ames and Taylor Allen, who, along with Noni Ames and Harbor Master Abbie Leonard, made the annual trip to Big Al’s, in Wiscasset, to purchase the display.