The Tamaqua 2010 Little Miss Spirit of Christmas Festival Committee has announced the winner of this year's essay contest. The 2010 Little Miss Spirit of Christmas is Jennifer Frederickson, daughter of Lisa and Shane Frederickson of Tamaqua.

A third-grade student at Tamaqua Elementary School, Jennifer wrote "What the Spirit of Christmas means to me … It means spending time with those you love and those who love you, but most of all it means celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ."Balloting took from Nov. 15-26 at the Wachovia Bank in Tamaqua. Twenty girls, in grades three through five, who reside within the Tamaqua Area School District, including St. Jerome Regional School, participated in the contest.Each girl submitted a short essay explaining "What the Spirit of Christmas Means to Me." Essays were on display, along with the girls' photographs, during the two-week period of balloting.Little Miss Spirit will participate in activities during the Spirit of Christmas Festival, Dec. 2-5, including the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce Santa Parade on Friday, Dec. 3. The parade will begin at 6:30 p.m.Other participants were: Kaitlyn Bender, Shanna Brinkworth, Kailee Carroll, Brandi DeAngelo, Kyla Kerr, Sierra Klinger, Olivia Lattanzi, Madison McGlinchey and Iris Picone, who all attend Tamaqua Elementary; Cassidy Taras, McKayla Wall, Madison Watson, Laziyah Wingler, Kayla Zamudio, and Alexis Zeigler, who attend Tamaqua Elementary; Airyanna Kowalski, who attends West Penn Elementary; and Kayla Clouser, Olivia Settler and Brooke Wargo, who attend St. Jerome Regional School.For more information on the Spirit of Christmas Festival, contact the Downtown Tamaqua Office at (570) 668-6899.