Christmas

It was a new take on Santa Thursday night at the Americana at Brand's fourth annual tree lighting ceremony, with aerialist and acrobatic performances putting a modern stamp on classic characters like the Nutcracker and toy soldiers. The “Cirque du Santa” event featured fireworks, music and the big man himself, Santa Claus, as the mega-outdoor mall heralded the holiday shopping season. The 100-foot-tall white fir was covered in 10,000 lights and 15,000 ornaments for the occasion.

This year, perhaps more so than in any other in recent memory, people can relate to the desperation of Mary and Joseph as they searched frantically for shelter on the eve of Jesus' birth. No assets, poor, and completely dependent on the generosity of others, they came to rest in a stable, beaten back by the harsh realities of even the small town of Bethlehem. As the economy continues to weigh heavily on households — lost jobs, cut hours, lost health insurance — and with little hope for improvement in the near term, more and more people have had to settle into their own stables and accept the humility and frustrations that come with it. It's the range of impact that makes it all so staggering.

When most of us open our stockings on Christmas morning, we pull out a variety of gifts ? some candy, some trinkets, perhaps a pen or paperback or a CD or DVD... In much the same way, Olivia Tsui, music director of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra (GSO), has packed this year's "Sounds of Christmas" concert on Friday evening, Dec. 1 with an eclectic medley of musical treats and gifts. "The concert is a great way to start the holiday season," says Tsui. "Better yet, we've planned this Christmas kick off celebration with the whole family in mind.

Amber Willard TOOELE, UTAH -- While most people gather around Christmas trees at home today, some Glendale-based soldiers will be patrolling the snowy mountains of Utah. These 100 soldiers have traded their civilian jobs as teachers, mechanics, police officers and the like for the lives of military men in the state's Army National Guard 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized.) The men -- as a combat unit, there are no women allowed -- were federalized weeks after the Sept.

Tim Willert As morning turned to afternoon Tuesday and time started to run out on last-minute Christmas shoppers, Glendale residents and members of the religious community took time to explain the true meaning of Christmas. "It's a time to share with friends and loved ones," said Laura Camarena, 35, during a visit to Glendale Fashion Center. "Unfortunately, it's become about objects and not the birth of Jesus." Camarena's son, 7-year-old Adam Rodriguez, offered this explanation: "It's about being kind and sharing and giving stuff to people."

With a week to spare before Christmas, several Glendale organizations gave toys to needy families Saturday, making sure disadvantaged children wake up to gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. At the New Horizons Family Center, about 3,000 families received toys collected by New Horizons, the California Highway Patrol and Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer's office. A similar giveaway took place at the Salvation Army's Windsor Road campus, where 382 families received food for a Christmas dinner as well as gifts.

Gary Moskowitz Lilith Garibyan loves getting presents at Christmastime, but she also looks forward to hearing the religious story behind the holiday every year. Lilith, a fourth-grader at Emerson Elementary School in Burbank, was one of about 45 children from Burbank and Glendale who performed Saturday during a Christmas celebration at the Armenian Church Western Diocese in Burbank. More than 800 people, including Armenian American children from public and private schools in Burbank and Glendale and their families, attended the event.

Judy Seckler LA CRESCENTA -- Whether shopping for that one last gift or looking for the perfect holiday table cloth, St. Luke's Episcopal Church wants the public to know it has organized a group of holiday activities to combat the stress. "This should be a time of delight and reflection as people concentrate on what's really important -- 'seasoning' our Christmas traditions with a true celebration of Christ's birth," said the Rev. Ron Jackson of St. Luke's.

Rosette Gonzales When others were writing Christmas wish lists for toys and clothes, 12-year-old Monica Sogamoso just wanted her family to live happily ever after in a home of their own. Monica, her sister Jasmine, 9, and their mother Maria Leon, a victim of domestic violence, had been living in shelters for two years. "I just want for my mom to be happy, and my sister to be happy, and one day we can have a house of our own," Monica told the News-Press in December.

Armenian religious leaders made their rounds to local hospitals on Thursday to mark Christmas on Jan. 6. His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western diocese of North America, toured Glendale Memorial Hospital and Glendale Adventist Medical Center, respectively, on Thursday, visiting patients and blessing traditional bread to mark the occasion. -- Jason Wells , Times Community News Twitter: @JasonBretWells  

A blaze that erupted in home Wednesday night on Screenland Drive after a dry Christmas tree caught fire caused $125,000 in damage, but no injuries were reported. The fire destroyed the home's living room before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze shortly after 6 p.m. in the 2000 block of Screenland Drive. Burbank animal control officers were called in to care for two dogs that were found hiding in a nearby room. The homeowners were apparently away at the time the fire started.

Armenian religious leaders made their rounds to local hospitals on Thursday to mark Armenian Christmas, which is on Jan. 6. His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western diocese of North America, toured Glendale Memorial Hospital and Glendale Adventist Medical Center, respectively, on Thursday, visiting patients and blessing traditional bread to mark the occasion....

After having spent a couple of Christmases in Iraq, and another at Fifth Fleet Headquarters in the Middle Eastern island nation of Bahrain, it is impossible to take the tranquillity of Christmas in Glendale for granted. This will be my first holiday season at home in several years and I am cherishing every moment. When I look back at these combat deployments, I am thankful for the many neighbors who made special efforts to welcome me home from Iraq, to the men of Fire Station 26, who turned out in force to mark the day, and to the Glendale Police Department, which had motor officers to control traffic and display their highly visible support.

When the freak windstorm was knocking down power lines and toppling giant trees on roofs and cars, Scotty Sorensen was pounding 42-inch stakes into the ground with a sledgehammer to keep the 95-mph gusts from blowing away the tents at his Christmas tree lot in Pasadena. It was an exercise in futility as the raging winds bent the aluminum poles holding up the tents. It was the same at his lot in South Pasadena where the giant tent - Big Red - was in danger of blowing away and damaging someone else's property.

It's been a disaster since the Lawrence family moved to Glendale almost three months ago. First a hospital visit brought a hefty medical bill, then sentimental Christmas decorations were destroyed, and two weeks ago someone stole the $800 car the family bought with the last of their savings. It had two car seats in the back. “Right now is the worst possible time,” said Shannon Lawrence, who moved with her husband and two daughters from Charlottesville, Va., at the end of October.

Christmas in Southern California definitely will not be white this year. In fact, it's beginning to feel a lot like springtime. Weather forecasters are predicting that temperatures should reach a high of 78 degrees by Christmas Day. They're also saying the Santa Ana winds that knocked out power to about 1,400 Southern California Edison customers Thursday -- the majority of them in Garden Grove, Stanton and San Bernardino -- should subside by...

In response to the letter from Mary Martin (“Montrose Christmas tree is shameful,” Dec. 12), I also don't especially like this tree, but not knowing where it came from, who chose this tree or how much it cost, I am happy to put up with it. Our great little town of Montrose has the Christmas parade, trolley rides, Christmas bands and, of course, Santa Claus. Perhaps after budgeting for all of these wonderful things, that was the only affordable tree. In these tough economic times, we should be happy we even have a Christmas tree!

Constructed from PVC piping and anchored in place by steel rebar and wire tethers, the Oak Circle Drive Christmas wishing tunnel might be a curiosity to outsiders. It doesn't have the storied history of Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena or the glitz of Candy Cane Lane in Woodland Hills, but seems a perfect fit in the Sparr Heights neighborhood in Montrose where residents have been collectively decorating their homes, inside and out, for as long as anyone can remember. “It has always been a beautiful street, but it is most festive at Christmastime,” said 23-year resident Allen Brandstater.

The spirit of Christmas past and present is alive and well on a modest, middle-class block in Burbank, where nearly everybody lights up their front yards with fantastic displays that would warm the cold, cold heart of the meanest Scrooge. This Christmas Street isn't just strings of lights amid Santa Claus figures, sugarplum fairies and nativity scenes. There are animated displays, like a merry-go-round that turns, and trains that chug along, a Ferris wheel that seems to be rotating, thanks to flashing digital lights, a pop-up Santa jack-in-the-box and a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree made of wires and LED lights that glow in the night.