LEWISTON — Parking lots at the Auburn Mall, at Best Buy and Walmart were empty.

Most businesses were closed as people spent Christmas Day with friends and family. Those who were working seemed to be working with a lighter than usual heart.

Residence Inn in Auburn. Cars in the parking lot bore license plates from Maine, Virginia, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Inside, Neal Cobisi was behind the check-in counter.

Usually, he’s the night auditor. He was working Christmas Day because “some of my fellow employees have kids and I don’t,” he said. “We’re over 50 percent full, which is really great for this time of year. Everybody’s checked in and doing the family thing.”

Before going to work, Cobisi spent time with his parents in Lewiston. “We had lots of goodies and food, even lobster,” he said. He was fine with working Christmas. “I don’t mind,” he said. “I was in the military at one time. The job comes first.”

Wei-Li Restaurant in Auburn. About the only restaurants open were Chinese. At Wei-Li, owner Cam Luu said they were busy, open from 11 to 5.

Santa arrived at their home Thursday night, but his family’s Christmas Day celebration had to wait until after closing time. Waiting at a nearby table were his daughters Mai, 5½, and Katie, 10. Katie was eager to enjoy an enticing gingerbread house made by friend Carole Hodgkin. The girls had been staring at the treat for hours, said their mother, Lilly Huang.

“I want it so bad I can’t wait,” Katie said.

“One more hour,” her mother said.

Carole Hodgkin said she and her husband worked at the restaurant Christmas Day because their 27-year-old daughter was not home for the holiday for the first time. It wasn’t a typical Christmas, but it was fine, she said. “People seem to be really happy. Everybody’s in a good mood. It’s been nice.”

St. Philip’s Catholic Church, Auburn. By 5 in the afternoon, Pastor Richard McLaughlin was enjoying his Christmas meal.

Earlier in the day and on Christmas Eve, McLaughlin officiated at Christmas Masses that were well-attended, he said. The atmosphere was festive. “People were in a good space,” McLaughlin said. “There was a genuine, deep-felt gratitude for the season.”

McLaughlin had been away from the area for eight years. Before that, he was at St. Joseph’s in Lewiston. This year’s Christmas was a kind of homecoming, he said.

The message of his sermon was that many feel like something’s missing from the season, “and add new stuff to make up for it.” He encouraged followers to simplify, get down to the basics during the holy season. Their hunger can be eased through the promise of the birth of the Savior, life after death “and the fulfillment that is yet to come,” McLaughlin said.

Big Apple in Lewiston. Business was steady on Christmas Day, cashier Ashley Carr said. The Big Apple is open 24/7, even on Christmas.

Carr has three children, ages 3, 4 and 5. They had a good Christmas, she said with a smile. They had plenty of toys under their tree. “Their favorite was video games.”

She was OK with working Christmas Day. “We get paid time and a half,” she said.

Customer Joseph Wells of Lewiston was planning to attend a Christmas party. He had just finished a shift at the Russell Park nursing home and was on his way to another job. “I work at the mall cleaning the parking lots. Today is an excellent day to clean the lots,” he said.

Wells worked from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., and volunteered to do so. “It’s better for the residences to have a happy atmosphere,” he said, adding that he prefers Thanksgiving to Christmas. Many residents spent the day out of the facility with family. Those at Russell Park were treated to a Christmas buffet, he said.

Lewiston and Auburn police stations. A phone call around 6 p.m. was Lewiston Police Department watch commander Sgt. Brian O’Malley’s first call since 3 p.m. That’s how quiet it was.

Before work, O’Malley spent the morning with his family. “We had to cut Christmas short,” he said. “You try to make it quality time with the family when you’re home. We got up nice and early.”

His officers were observing Christmas by enjoying Chinese takeout, eating in shifts.

In Auburn, watch commander Sgt. Jim Robicheau said Friday was his regular day to work. Christmas didn’t take away that duty. He volunteered to work Christmas Eve so other officers could be home with their little ones. His children are grown. “We cover for each other,” he said.

But someone called in sick Christmas morning, which meant after only a few hours of sleep he worked from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Christmas Day.

Citizens were being awfully good, he said. “People bring us cookies and snacks. Off-duty police officers have brought us hot dishes. We’re treated really well.”

Officers too had the Christmas spirit: No tickets were issued.

“We gave out all warnings,” Robicheau said. “Some people were very lucky.”

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Katie Luu, 10, right, awaits the closing of Wei-Li, her parents’ restaurant, on Christmas Day so she and her sister, Mai, 5, and mother, Lilly Huang, can go home and open the gingerbread house given to them by a family friend. “They want to eat these on top,” said Huang, pointing to some red and green Hersey kisses.

Joseph Wells of Lewiston, on his way to a Christmas party, stops at the Big Apple store on Main Street to buy a six-pack after work.

Neal Cobisi started his shift at the Residence Inn by Marriott at around 3 p.m. on Christmas Day. Since he doesn’t have any children, Cobisi decided to work on the holiday.