HAGERSTOWN -- Growing numbers of Hagerstown residents are forgoing traditional Christmas dinners at home for a chance to share Christmas with Nick.
That's because "Christmas with Nick" -- as in Nick Giannaris, restaurateur and hotel owner -- is no ordinary affair.
It's become an annual yuletide dinner that feeds more than 1,200 people and inspires 300 to 400 volunteers -- doctors, lawyers, politicians and others from all walks of life in Hagerstown -- to cook, serve food and greet the poor and lonely.
"It brings the spirit of Christmas alive to be with so many people and to share the day," said Ed Lough, a volunteer. "It's such a great feeling. Nobody should be alone on Christmas Day. People come as much to visit as for the food."
Mr. Giannaris, a 60-year-old Greek immigrant, initiated the dinner nine years ago after local businessmen asked him to cook some turkeys in his hotel kitchen for needy families. Mr. Giannaris was surprised to learn about the number of needy people in Washington County.
"They told me, 'Oh, Nick, you have no idea about the number of poor people,' " he recalled. "I told my good friend George Turner that if he brings them, I will feed them."
And so he did.
Mr. Turner, owner of Turner Taxi in Hagerstown, provided free transportation -- and still does -- to the first dinner, which )R attracted 300 to 400 people. Now, along with Mr. Turner, county-owned buses shuttle guests back and forth from the Sheraton Inn.
Mr. Giannaris credits the free transportation with making the dinner a success. Volunteers now also deliver meals to those who are housebound.
"After that first year, we were hooked," said Mr. Giannaris, who also owns Nick's Airport Inn. "I have the greatest feeling that day. I never get tired of that day. And as long as I am able and capable, I will continue to do this."
Mr. Giannaris, along with his chefs, other employees and volunteers, begins cooking about a week before the dinner. This year, they'll cook 40 to 50 turkeys, countless hams, mashed potatoes and gravy, succotash and assorted pies. Dinner is served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Everyone is welcome. Even the not so needy.
"We discovered after a year or two that people could be needy in more than one way," Mr. Turner said. "One of the worst things during the holidays is to be alone. Some of our volunteers don't have anyone to spend Christmas with. Our volunteers enjoy the dinner as much as the people who come to eat."
Mr. Giannaris recalled a well-to-do couple who stopped at the Sheraton Inn one Christmas a few years ago to have dinner. He told them the restaurant was closed but they were welcome to join the others and have a meal in the ballroom.
"After they finished their dinner, they stayed and volunteered," he said. "They told me it was the finest Christmas they ever
had."
Christmas with Nick is a merry affair that can soften even the most hardened heart. "Over the years, I've come across lots of people who have lost the Christmas spirit," Mr. Turner said. "I've made numerous wagers with these people. I tell them, 'Come out and help us on Christmas, and if you don't have the best Christmas you've ever had, I'll pay you $100.' I've never had anybody take the money."
And it's clear the free meal and comradeship move the recipients.
"This little note comes to thank you from my heart for making my Christmas complete," wrote an elderly woman from the Ravenwood Lutheran Village in Hagerstown. "That is a beautiful thought on your part to make the elderly happy on a very important day."
Many volunteers, such as Mr. Lough, an insurance underwriter from Hagerstown, help year after year. In fact, Mr. Lough skips Christmas dinner with his parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives in Cumberland to help.
"My family was a little disappointed the first few years," he said. "But I told them that they always instilled in me that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It's the way they raised me. Now they expect me not to be there on Christmas."
While Christmas with Nick might not rival Bea Gaddy's Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas food giveaway in Baltimore -- in which thousands are fed or given food -- it is considered the biggest holiday charitable event in Western Maryland.
"I'm not aware of anything in the area approaching the magnitude of Christmas with Nick," said Hagerstown Mayor Steven Sager, an occasional volunteer. "It's something a lot of people look forward to. The town is otherwise pretty quiet that day. Not even McDonald's is open."
Despite the growth of "Christmas with Nick," the need in Washington County is extensive, said David A. Engle, director of the county's social services department.
He said 3,417 households, about 10,000 people, receive food stamps in the county.
"Nick's hospitality is an example of how citizens can join with government and tackle these problems, and make a difference at the local level," Mr. Engle said.
Community sharing is not new to Mr. Giannaris, who immigrated to the United States from Greece in the 1950s. He recalled that on Christmas in his Greek village, residents made sure everyone had something to eat. His mother would send him to neighbors' homes with food.
"I've kind of borrowed and expanded on that," he said.
Mr. Giannaris said the expense has become almost nil because so many area businesses provide food and other donations.
"The community has been good to me," he said. "I love this town, and I love the people here. Anything I can do to make it a better place, I will do."