After all the turkey was cooked and the leftovers mostly gone, a group of hundreds gathered in front of the Douglas County Courthouse steps Sunday evening to ring in a holiday season of good cheer and giving.

Children were hoisted onto the shoulders of their parents as classic Christmas tunes belted across the lawn. Organizers promised Santa Claus would make a special appearance and warned children to be vigilant because his entrance would be special.

As promised, the jolly man in red came barreling down Kane Street — sticking out the top of a Humvee escorted by Oregon National Guardsmen.

The lights of the Christmas tree sparked to life after an excited countdown by the crowd. Sounds of awe escaped from many when the multicolored lights lit up the night.

The whole scene was enough to enthrall a first-time attendee, 4-year-old Caydence. She and her mother, Kelsey Ellis of Myrtle Creek, waited in line to greet Santa Claus despite a sudden rainstorm that scattered most of the masses at the end of the event.

The girl happily caught the raindrops on her tongue as her mother said the Christmas tree lighting ceremony would likely become a family tradition.

“She is amazed by it. That is why we are still sitting here next to Santa Claus, or else I would be home because it is raining,” Ellis said.

Traditions were laced into the long-standing event, including a reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by former Douglas County Commissioner Joyce Morgan.

The emcee of the event, county Commissioner Doug Robertson, said the poem has been read before the lighting for at least the last 20 years.

Roseburg mime Sharon Hagg, dressed head-to-toe in white, stood at the top of the courthouse steps, acting out the classic poem. On her hands were gloves with seemingly magical powers as the fingertips shifted through a rainbow of colors.

Robertson said the whole event and the Christmas season are meant to be magical in Douglas County.

“There are a lot of seasons during the year, but there are none more special or magical than the Christmas season — certainly for the youngsters. For them, it is magic,” Robertson said. “(This is a time) for everyone to reflect on just how lucky we are to live where we live.”

The Wallace family of Roseburg has attended the tree lighting ceremony almost every year for about a dozen years, mother Andrea Wallace said. The event was so special to Isabella Wallace, 8, that Mayor Larry Rich, a family friend, took notice.

He and county Commissioner Susan Morgan invited the girl up on stage to help flip the switch and light the tree.

“Isabella has been waiting for years and years and years to come forward and flip the switch on the Christmas tree,” Morgan told the gathered.

Dave Wallace said the girl was a little nervous and shy so she asked her brothers, Gabriel, 9 and Noah, 12, to come on stage with her for support.

As the countdown began, Rich picked the girl up so she could reach the switch. Her dad said it was a fun moment for the whole family.

“It was a blast,” Dave Wallace said.

• You can reach reporter Heather Morse at 541-957-4208 or by email at hmorse@nrtoday.com.