Christmas morning begins hours earlier than other days punctuated by thumping footsteps from kids – and some adults – dashing to the tree, mantle or whatever vessel the presents are stored in or under. Eyes and arms filled with presents, smiles and hugs, a route is cleared to the table where belly laughs are made and belts are loosened.

For those who usually aren’t off on holidays such as this, where spending time with family and community are very important, Christmas will be a different story. There are those who don’t celebrate Christmas due to their religion or nationality or heritage, and others can’t celebrate it because they are at work.

Firefighters, medical workers and police officers often find themselves in the line of duty on Christmas day. No matter if you live in a large metropolis or a quaint town such as this, these professionals are always needed and must reschedule or work around their work schedule for the holidays.

“It takes a special person to be in law enforcement or any type of job that requires people to work over the holidays,” Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said. “The family has to be special to understand they might not be able to spend the holidays with their family members.”

Elaine Bell agrees with her husband.

“I’m not a selfish person, so I understand he has to work and take care of his duties,” Elaine Bell said. “He’s lucky enough to be off Sundays and Mondays, which is important because then he can attend church.”

At the Brookhaven Fire Department central station, the firemen get ready for the holidays taking phone calls from citizens and preparing for time spent away from family members as well.

“We know ahead of time, in January, what the schedule is going to be like over the holidays,” Captain Jeff Ainsworth said. “We can plan ahead to switch with someone or schedule our family celebrations around the times when we’re off.”

Ainsworth said his wife’s dad, who recently retired worked as a fire fighter since Ainsworth’s wife was young, so she’s understanding of his life.

Candace Moore, a registered nurse at King’s Daughters Medical Center, will be working her first Christmas Day away from family members this year and is looking forward to the day as a chance to fulfill the real meaning of the holidays.

“It’s not just about eating but about giving,” Moore said. “I’m able to still give.”

Moore said she feels blessed to have a job that helps people feel better. She and her husband, who is also a nurse at KDMC, have no children, so the holidays are spent with immediate family members in Brookhaven and Louisiana. She said although she will be away, her coworker who she regards as her second family, have plans to have a Christmas dinner of their own.

“We like to eat,” Moore said before mentioning that a coworker had a mini Crock-Pot in her locker.

She said during holidays they work, they make meatballs, dip and other dishes to compliment the holiday menu that the KDMC cafeteria usually has.

Over at the fire station, something similar is bound to go down. Ainsworth said that the fire fighters who are working during holidays where you’d usually eat a meal, fighters from all three stations in Brookhaven will gather together to eat.

“We do what we can to make it as homey as possible,’ Ainsworth said. This is important for a lot of the fighters in Brookhaven because many of them live further out in the county.

Working over the holidays is a little bit different for officers at the Brookhaven Police Department because many of the officers live in the city. Bell said officers get a break during the day to go home and spend time with their families. He said for those officers who do live in the county, they sometimes get invited to coworkers’ houses in the city to celebrate with their families during these breaks.

“You have to be creative,” Bell said about juggling work and holiday time with the family.

He said he and family, his wife and son, usually try to celebrate the day before or day after.

Lance Louis, who is a firefighter scheduled to work this Christmas, said he celebrates early with his family.

“We tell them (his children) Santa just dropped their presents off early,” Louis said. “As long as they get something, they’re usually fine.”

Oftentimes reconciling a family member’s absence due to work is easier for children and can be harder for spouses to digest.

“You have to have a family that understands that you’re juggling being a police officer slash family man slash father,” Bell said.

Bell and his wife agree that the strain can be especially strenuous on younger couples.

“For young couples now, it takes more,” he said. “Things are higher now and young people live a higher lifestyle than what we lived.”

Ainsworth said it’s all part of the job and it’s not for everybody. “It can cause an argument,” he said.

Elaine Bell said what helped her was to just understand that her husband had to fulfill his duties to the community: as a police officer when they first got married and now, 37 years later, as chief.