Christmas Eve

Adam Durigh, a 25-year-old laid-off trucker from Nebraska, had never been in a shelter before going to the Burbank National Guard Armory a week ago. Having made the hard choice to house his 1-year-old son with the father of his ex-wife, Durigh came to the shelter out of desperation and pragmatism. “There just wasn’t enough room at my father-in-law’s,” he said Monday night, as guests at the shelter prepared to eat a steak dinner Union Rescue Mission prepared for the holidays.

A special service at 5 p.m., is being added on Christmas Eve at First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge. It is a repetition of the 10 a.m. service on "Christ Jesus". All adults and children are welcome. The theme of the Bible lesson sermon is this verse from Revelation: "I, Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." The church is located at 600 Foothill Blvd.

The sound of thunder filled the air late Saturday morning in Glendale as about 100 motorcycles rumbled from Harley Davidson on San Fernando Road on their way to Covina Park. The ride was to benefit the Ortega family, whose members fell victim to the violence of Bruce Pardo from Montrose who entered their Covina home during a Christmas Eve party and began shooting. He then set the home on fire, resulting in nine deaths, including Pardo?s ex-wife Sylvia. Saturday?s ride was organized by the National Latino Peace Officers Association which wanted to offer help to the devastated family.

Temple Sinai of Glendale will host its annual Chinese Food and Movie Night this Sunday, Dec. 24, beginning at 6 p.m. For the Jewish community and anyone not observing Christmas Eve, this popular event brings people together in a fun, nonreligious evening for the whole family. Meant as a kind of homage to the decades old New York tradition of Jewish families going out for Chinese food and a movie on Christian holidays, Temple Sinai brings the theme inside with a catered Chinese meal and several movies screened in separate rooms to appeal to viewers of all ages.

The La Cañada Presbyterian Church will have its regular three morning worship services on Sunday, Dec. 24, at 7:55, 9:25 and 10:55 as well as four Christmas Eve services. At 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., there will be family worship services designed for the entire family, especially those with younger children. Children's Choirs and Youth Orchestra lead these services. Officiating are Dr. Chuck Osburn and Rev. Kristin Leucht. At 8 p.m., the Praise Band leads worship with Rev. Jim Milley officiating.

Dear family and friends, Having spent this birthday once again with our wounded military service men and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, I am reminded of last year?s visit while James was deployed to Iraq. Since then, I have returned on several occasions. Each time, I find the faces and details have changed but the story remains the same; men and women brave beyond our imaginations who, although brutalized by the horrors of war, are eager to continue serving our nation and our communities.

In the spirit of the season and in the tradition of their New York counterparts, Jews at Temple Sinai of Glendale gathered on Christmas Eve to celebrate the holidays their way. For the third consecutive year, Temple Sinai officials have been providing a place for their members to gather together for food and family films on the eve of a holiday they do not celebrate. "From what I've heard, this is a tradition that started in New York," said Phillip Hain, member of the temple's board of directors and organizer of the event.

Glendale Police Sgt. Steve Robertson got his start in the cockpit at age five. His father would tuck a couple of phone books under him so he could see out of the family's Cessna 150. "I just loved it, every kid loves flying," Robertson said. "He got me started and that is where I got the passion from. " On Friday, Robertson, now a helicopter pilot with the Glendale Police Department's air division, introduced another 5-year-old to the thrill of flying, treating La Crescenta Elementary School kindergartener Reece LoCicero to an aerial tour of greater Los Angeles.

Alex Coolman TROPICO -- Chris Gallagher has found it's not too hard to be Santa Claus. The employee of the city's Integrated Waste Management Services section of its Public Works Department put on the red suit and the white beard last year to deliver Christmas Eve toys and food to the residents of PROJECT ACHIEVE, a transitional housing center for the homeless. "I get the easy part," Gallagher said. "I get all the love and it's easy for me to give it back."

Robert Shaffer LA CRESCENTA -- On Christmas Eve in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II opened the bronze Holy Door to St. Peter's Basilica. A world away in La Crescenta, Monsignor Bob Gipson opened a replica at St. James the Less Catholic Church. The door at the La Crescenta church, a bronze tinfoil version of the 500-year-old original, was crafted by parishioners to celebrate the beginning of a Holy Year, a Papal-decreed Roman Catholic celebration that will end with the Feast of Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2001.

Shoppers were bustling in Glendale on the last full weekend before Christmas, but merchants continue to hold out for procrastinators, while savvy shoppers look for last-minute deals. The Glendale Galleria and Americana at Brand were both busy, according to their representatives. In an effort to draw even more customers, Macy's will stay open until 2 a.m. this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, said Larry Martin, general manager at the Galleria. “They've done that at very few stores throughout the nation,” he said.

The volume of Christmas decorations, food and gifts in the lobby at Glendale Memorial Hospital surged Wednesday as staff members stopped by to contribute to the heap. But the items were not meant for an internal holiday party - rather 25 Cerritos Elementary School families too poor to celebrate the season without assistance. “Whatever you have, you recognize how much others don't and it just makes you feel a little bit better about aiding and assisting in the community,” said Michelle Galanti, an exercise physiologist.

During two respective events this past week, hundreds of Burbankers got a jump on celebrating the Yuletide season while others honored a woman who, during the span of her remarkable 36-year journalism career, has covered and chronicled the lives of thousands of local residents. With the Fourth of July duly celebrated and the summer in full swing, it can only mean one thing - the women of the La Providencia Guild of Children's' Hospital Los Angeles are deeply involved in Yuletide pride.

The presents were so numerous they all but filled the tiny one-room apartment on Wilson Avenue in Glendale. In one corner was a bicycle and helmet, in another, a set of plastic building blocks. Five children danced around, arranging and rearranging the piles. "They woke at 7 a.m. and already wanted to bathe and get ready," their mother, Aida Cardenas, said. "They are so happy. " It was a joyful moment in an otherwise difficult year for the family, which has struggled with prolonged unemployment.

Glendale Police Sgt. Steve Robertson got his start in the cockpit at age five. His father would tuck a couple of phone books under him so he could see out of the family's Cessna 150. "I just loved it, every kid loves flying," Robertson said. "He got me started and that is where I got the passion from. " On Friday, Robertson, now a helicopter pilot with the Glendale Police Department's air division, introduced another 5-year-old to the thrill of flying, treating La Crescenta Elementary School kindergartener Reece LoCicero to an aerial tour of greater Los Angeles.

Regarding Marianne Woods’ Jan. 12 letter, “Do not let Minx become a nightclub,” she is right on target. Portions of the community in Glendale are out of control. Now I am not saying everyone in Glendale has complete disregard for our laws, but it is hard to look the other way when so many are blatantly broken with no consequences. With regards to the Minx Restaurant and Lounge, it is incomprehensible that the Glendale Police Department backed down when trying to enter the so-called nightclub to help someone inside.

This is in response to Francis Adams’ letter criticizing President Obama for spending the holidays with his family in Hawaii (“Is Obama doing his job from Hawaii?” Jan. 1). I agree! Who does he think he is, going to warm Hawaii (where he grew up) for his vacation?! Camp David is so much more “fun” sounding, especially in winter. It must be even moreso to his wife and young daughters. It really makes me sick. Imagine, it’s Christmas morning, you’re opening presents with your family (or maybe sleeping in, since it’s only 7 a.m.)

Hundreds of parishioners gathered inside St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church Wednesday morning to celebrate Armenian Christmas. Many Armenian families Tuesday night honored the theophany — the birth of Jesus, his revelation to mankind and his baptism — by sharing a meal and staying indoors for the holy Christmas eve or going to church, said Hagop Tchagaspanian, the church’s Board of Trustees chairman. “The existence of two accepted dates for celebrating Christmas, Dec. 25 and Jan. 6, does not reflect a doctrinal issue,” he said.

GLENDALE — It might not qualify as a Christmas miracle, but sales and traffic around Glendale retail hubs exceeded last year’s numbers, mall operators said. The Americana at Brand is anticipating its best Christmas season on record in its short history, and the parking lot at the Glendale Galleria has been filled to capacity for seven days leading up to the big day, representatives for the two properties said. “People are shopping with confidence,” said Jennifer Gordon, a senior vice president with Caruso Affiliated, which owns the Americana.

I find it easier to focus on meaningful things at this time of year. Easier also to center my attention away from the vast and the noisy and the troublesome and more on the quiet, the unobtrusive, the inconspicuous, the vital. Despite the world?s disorder and daily turmoil that grab headlines and clench fists, there are the beautiful subtleties ? the little things in life ? that keep us all going. I like to think of that night so many years ago when a mighty empire ruled the world and a single baby came into existence.