Christmas Tree

Mailbag: All I want from the Americana is silence Published Nov. 20 Once again, like many Glendalians, I was startled out of my chair Thursday night by what sounded like gunfire. I finally decided it must have been fireworks at the Americana at Brand, although I couldn?t see anything (?Lighting up the night,? Nov. 20). Why does the city of Glendale allow this? Fireworks are for the Fourth of July and places like Dodger Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in the summer.

DOWNTOWN — Crews worked in delicate choreography early Wednesday to load a 110-foot Christmas tree into the Americana at Brand square nearly two months before the actual holiday. The early setup, which involved a 170-ton crane, will set the stage for the Americana to begin arrangements for its holiday festivities, including fake snow showers, visits from Santa Claus and a tree-lighting show Nov. 19. It also brings the atmosphere of a December holiday into the shopping center at a time that shoppers may find unusually early, said Brian Connett, professor of marketing at the Cal State Northridge College of Business and Economics.

Still time to get a Christmas tree The Glendale YMCA?s Tree lot is open from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Colorado Street until Wednesday. For more information, call (818) 240-4130. ? Thrift shop has its dollar sale Glendale YWCA New to You Thrift Shop is having its Dollar Sale from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday until Dec. 31 at the shop inside the YWCA, 735 E. Lexington Drive, Glendale.

GLENDALE — Thomas A. Edison Elementary School students from the Spanish Immersion Program didn’t miss out Saturday on the chance to participate in a traditional pinata party at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael’s Christmas Open House and Fiesta de Luminarias event. Student Camila Capano demolished a donkey pinata, sending pieces of candy flying. “She decapitated it with one blow,” said Camila’s mother, Adriana Capano. Camila and her fellow students, who studied the Spanish language and its ethnic traditions, played in the adobe’s large yard that was decorated with luminarias, which are paper bags filled with sand and a candle.

It?s time once again to select that special piece of forestry to augment the holiday atmosphere in your home. The YMCA?s annual Christmas tree lot opens today with a wide selection of greenery to herald the magic of the holidays and also help area youth finance a learning adventure. The Crescenta-Cañada YMCA works together with the Verdugo Hills YMCA on the annual fund-raiser. Each year, about 130 YMCA kids involved in Youth in Government and Model United Nations help to sell trees at the lot to finance the teens?

With less than a month to go before Christmas, Will Alaimo, with his brother Ted, hopes tradition wins out over a struggling economy. So far, the plan seems to be working for the Alaimos, co-owners of Little St. Nicks Christmas tree lot in downtown Glendale. For 20 years, the Alaimo family has set up shop on the corner of Brand Boulevard and Wilson Avenue, traditionally opening their Christmas tree business the day after Thanksgiving. This year, the brothers assumed control of the lot from their father and plan to expand the business from the normal operation of selling trees to an all-out Christmas-themed extravaganza.

GLENDALE — Christmas trees dragged to curbs for trash pickup are attracting arsonists, fire officials said. On Gardena Avenue in southwest Glendale on Monday, a 34-year-old man stepped out of his front door to find his discarded Christmas tree in flames, according to a police report. Police arrived shortly after the man put the fire out with a garden hose and found no evidence of who was responsible for igniting the tree. The homeowner did not see any people or vehicles fleeing, police said.

With a song in their hearts, the 7th grade class of St. James the Less Catholic School, led by their teacher Nola Ching, visited the residents of Verdugo Vista HeathCare Center in La Crescenta. Decked out in Christmas scarves and Santa hats, the students walked the halls caroling. As they sang, each student handed out special, handmade Christmas cards to the residents. The class ended their caroling in the main living room where there were about twelve residents in wheelchairs sitting by the center?

Rockhaven is all I want for Christmas I get excited every time I drive by Rockhaven (?Council wants Rockhaven land,? Dec. 5). Growing up here, I always wanted to walk the oak-covered grounds and see the old buildings. Now the idea that not only will it be saved but offered as a community space is like a dream. Imagine grabbing a book from the library and taking it outside to read under the old oaks. Perhaps you grab a coffee from a cart offered in the courtyard. You lazily watch the local artists set up and paint in the 3.5 acres, then get up and stroll the small museum of local Crescenta/Cañada history before a lecture.

This year and in years past, some local residents, along with radio talk show hosts such as Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, have expressed concern that “secular progressives” are trying to eliminate the name Christmas from holiday events. The city of Glendale’s annual “Holiday Tree Lighting” has come under fire because it doesn’t note, some say, that it is a “Christmas” tree that is being lighted, not a holiday tree. What do you think?