SKANEATELES - Holiday porch pots, wreaths, family shopping and a cranky old man named Ebenezer Scrooge were all signs that the holiday season officially began in the village of Skaneateles Friday.

The village's annual Dickens Christmas event kicked off with a two-minute parade quickly followed by the introduction of England's Queen Victoria, President James Polk, author Charles Dickens and other political and literary figures from the early 1800s.

More than 100 people crowded the sidewalk in front of the Sherwood Inn to greet the actors playing this year's Dickens' characters, while hundreds more enjoyed the village's downtown shopping and dining experience. The Dickens Christmas program continues on Saturdays and Sundays through Christmas.

For Steve and Jodi Sackel, and their three children, Cole, Cooper and Olivia, meeting the Dickens Christmas cast has become a post-Thanksgiving tradition.

“You can't explain it to people unless they come and see it and participate,” said Jodi Sackel, of Williamsville. “They just don't understand. It really gets you into the holiday spirit to see everybody dressed up and singing Christmas carols.”

Many families stopped to pose for a picture with several of the actors who dressed up as characters from Charles Dickens' novel “A Christmas Carol,” while others reveled at the chance to meet the historical figures who believed it was still 1842.

For Queen Victoria, the trip to Skaneateles was a chance to indulge in American shopping while her husband experienced democracy at its finest in Albany.

“I came for the shopping while Prince Albert indulges himself in all forms of government,” Victoria said. “I have to admit I was worried the people here would be savage ... but they all know how to use silverware. Even the ghosts here are civil.”

As the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future walked back and forth along Fennell, Jordan and Genesee streets, shoppers walked from store to store towing bags filled with potential gifts.

Many of the shoppers stopped to listen to musical performances while others picked up hot chocolate and other treats to munch on.

Trombonist Ginger Dudgeon said Dickens Christmas would be incomplete without the music.

“You can't really have Christmas without Christmas music,” Dudgeon said. “Live music is more preferable than anything recorded.”

The only person not feeling the holiday spirit despite the music Friday was Ebenezer Scrooge, who wandered down the streets of Skaneateles muttering “Bah-humbug, I hate Christmas - I hate people, too.”

While Scrooge was not a fan of the event, that did not stop him from earning fans of his own.

“We love the characters,” said Steve Sackel. “Scrooge is Cole's favorite ... and Olivia likes Santa Claus.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net