Holiday excitement filled the air as the Hartsdale Fire Department hosted its ninth annual Operation Candy Cane on Saturday morning, December 9th.

Santa, along with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and a team of elves, visited more than twenty communities, along with the Marian Woods Retirement Home for religious sisters. Since it began in 2015, off-duty members of the Hartsdale Fire Department have given up a Saturday morning in December to spread Christmas cheer throughout the Hartsdale Fire District.

At each stop, the elves handed out candy canes while Santa and Rudolph posed for pictures with the children and their families. After each photo was taken, the family was given a card with a number on it so that they could send an email and request a copy of the picture.

Every year, since its inception, Operation Candy Cane has attracted bigger and bigger crowds. Its increasing popularity is evident in one of the many notes the department received after this year’s event, “Thank you all so much for providing such a special moment for the children of Hartsdale - we always appreciate you!”

The members of the fire department were deeply touched by two young members of the community. One seven-year-old boy, appropriately dressed as a firefighter, presented Santa and the elves with a painting he did for them. Santa promised it would be hung in the firehouse. A five-year-old girl presented Santa with a box of cookies. Earlier in the day she had gone shopping with her family and said we have to have cookies for Santa.

Operation Candy Cane started and finished at the Hartsdale train station in the village. Photos by Alan Zale