Tonight, Dec. 21, is the winter solstice. This, of course, is an annual event but this year, if one glances at the Mayan calendar, which many are doing, there is a special significance. To put it bluntly, today is the end of the Mayan calendar, something that has existed for 5,000 years.

Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven is inviting one and all to its annual Community Christmas Dinner held from noon until 2 p.m. on Christmas Day. The traditional feast includes roast turkey and ham with plenty of side dishes, sweets and pies. Volunteers prepare and serve the food, which is donated by Grace Church parishioners and Island businesses.

Aquinnah, Community Baptist Church of Gay Head in Aquinnah: Christmas Eve candlelight service, 5 p.m. Call 508-693-1539. Chilmark, Chilmark Community Church at 9 Menemsha Crossroad: Christmas Eve, 5 p.m. Call 508-645-3100. Edgartown, Faith Community Church (reformed and evangelical) 316 Meetinghouse Way off Herring Creek (Katama): Christmas Eve, 5:30 p.m. Call 508-627-4421.

The staff, volunteers and especially all the animals at the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The shelter would like to share the Prayer for Animals by Albert Schweitzer.

Early Saturday morning and all is quiet at Donaroma’s Nursery. A misty rain has settled on the piles of garlands, wreaths and greenery. No one would know that less than 12 hours earlier, more than 1,500 people were here to celebrate the holiday season with wine, cheese, 3-D glasses, glitter and a treasure hunt. Suddenly, infectious laughter spills out of the large glass greenhouse.

“We are grateful, we give thanks,” West Tisbury poet laureate Justen Ahren read during Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the West Tisbury Free Public Library’s expansion and renovation project. After nearly five years of planning, grant applications, and fundraising, construction on the new building will begin next month. A large crowd gathered in the courtyard of the library to celebrate the big day. Mr. Ahren was one of a lineup of speakers that featured state rep.