It’s Christmas time in the City of Greenville and that means holiday traditions galore.
Among those traditions is the highly anticipated and long-running Drive By and Wave at Santa event hosted by Greenville resident and “Christmas connoisseur” in her own right, Judy Long.
Running from 6 to 8 p.m. nightly, beginning Monday, Dec. 12, this year’s is the 23rd installment of the Drive By and Wave at Santa event.
In the event of rain, the Drive By will be canceled.
The reputation of Long’s home, located on the corner of Camellia and Burning Bush drives, precedes itself as it has become something of a marquee holiday attraction for neighbors, visitors and passers-by alike with its adornment of lights and brightly lit displays.
“Is Santa sitting on the porch tonight?” and “You are doing your house this year, aren’t you?” are just a few of the questions Long has gotten from very eager folks who look forward to Long’s festive homage to the holiday season.
She said about 175 cars drove by last year to greet Santa and Mrs. Claus even though there were restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long’s knack for decorations and trimmings could be likened to a green thumb, but for the Christmas season as it comes so naturally for her.
It’s a knack that has been inherited by the generations she and her late husband Jimmy have begotten.
“My children and my grandchildren all do lots of lights on their houses. They can’t wait to get here and sit on the porch,” said Long, noting she has 30 grandchildren and great-grandchildren altogether.
She joked the reason all of her children and grandchildren are coming home for the holidays has nothing to do with her, but rather sitting on the porch to partake in the Drive By and Wave at Santa event.
“What’s remarkable to me since we’ve been doing this is now the ones that came as small children are now bringing their children by,” she highlighted. “That is the most inspirational thing to me — that you’ve got as many as three generations coming back.”
The family friendly event is something Long hosted with her late husband, Jimmy, until he died in 2017.
Since then, her Beta Sigma Phi sorority sisters have been sponsoring the event, ensuring a steady flux of Mrs. Clauses.
“It’s become really bigger than I can even think about,” said Long, recalling when she used to go on the broadcast news to promote it. “I feel really good inside about that and I feel like it’s really a tribute to my husband too because he was one of the original Santas we used and he loved doing it.”
Long also highlighted how much she loved being alongside her husband as Mrs. Claus during the annual Christmas parades.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday. That’s the day Jesus was born, but it’s also a time of good feeling and I think I see people being really kind to one another around Christmas time. It’s a time that I wish we could do 12 months out of the year,” she said further.
Long wanted to give special thanks to St. Joseph High School seniors for contributing time and effort in making her yard look as festive as it does.
“The senior class has taken me on as a project and they’ve come to help with decorating the yard,” she pointed out.
Long also talked about how much she appreciated the assistance she received from a group of young men whom she affectionately called, “the good Samaritan boys.”
“They were wonderful and I never would have gotten the decorations done without the two groups,” she added.
