Christmas

JERRY PERSON It began more than 78 years ago as a way to advertise his lunch stands in Sunset Beach and in Anaheim Landing. In 1926 James Burns, the owner of Jim's Lunch, needed a way to bring in customers to his business and in doing so a tradition was born. Burns staged possibly the first real boat parade in our area when he strung together 20 rowboats on a rope 300-yards long. Each boat was painted and decorated for the occasion and was pulled by Burns' motorboat, the Opal 5. Fifty people rode in that first boat parade from Sunset Beach up to Anaheim Landing where Burns treated his guests to a fine dinner.

On Dec. 4 the downtown business community kicked off the holiday season with a Main Street parade and the lighting of the snowflakes on the pier. Ann Minnie and her friend Karen Pederson were among the 500 that watched the parade, and Minnie remembers the times when that master of parade planners, Bill Gallienne, plotted out our Christmas celebrations. There were contests for the title of Miss Meri Christmas, with girls from all over the area entering the contest; there were beautifully decorated store windows and colored lights; and decorations were hung across Main Street for several blocks.

MICHELE MARR On Saturday, the day before the first Sunday in Advent, as I opened my e-mail, I came across a message from an Internet acquaintance in Cancun. The subject line, "The Essence of the Christmas Season," caught my eye. When I opened the message, I found an Internet link to a story from The Associated Press, which had appeared in the New York Times under the headline, "Shopper Is Knocked Unconscious as Sale Begins." The story, from Orange City, Fla., was about a woman, Patricia VanLester, who was trampled and knocked unconscious by a frenzied mob of shoppers during a 6 a.m. Friday, Wal-Mart Supercenter, post-Thanksgiving five-hour blitz sale of DVD players for $29. VanLester was pushed to the ground and, according to her sister, Linda Ellzey, the crowd "walked over her like a herd of elephants."

The bank robber dubbed "the Christmas bandit" by the FBI, who hit three Southern California banks during the holidays including one in Huntington Beach was convicted and awaits sentencing. Guy Christopher Brooks began his crime spree just before Christmas. On Dec 24 he robbed Cal Bank & Trust in Dana Point and then a Bank of America in Lake Forest. Then, on Jan. 28, he robbed Union Bank in Huntington Beach. Brooks was arrested in Lake Forest when a patrol deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Marcus Perez, arrested Brooks for domestic violence at a Lake Forest hotel.

'T was the weekend before Christmas, and all through HB Parents were scrambling on a last minute spree Surfers headed beachside, with a hope and a prayer Sean Collins at Surfline said a swell would be there. The Oak View neighborhood had its parties too, But you'd never notice if you're just driving through Bound by Gothard and Warner, Beach and then Slater Is the home of working people -- builders, nannies and waiters The children in Oak View come from Puebla, Mexico, On the way to Veracruz, beneath a big volcano They brought Christmas traditions we don't have in the States, Like posadas and pozole and tamale-filled plates So this year the Independent felt it would be only fair, To head into Oak View, and find stories to share.

Christmas is over and people are beginning to pack away their Christmas lights, tinsel and outdoor displays for another year. It is unfortunate that we are also putting away that special feeling of unselfishness that people so often feel during the Christmas holiday. Christmas is a time of giving from the heart, not just for one day, but also for each day one wakes up and sees the sun rise again. Many of you, like me, watched that classic Christmas story about a man who found the true meaning of Christmas.

Early last December, a grinch showed up in Ursula Heidenwag's life and almost stole her Christmas. At the time, hardly a soul even knew. I know Ursula because she owns the Upstairs Salon, where I've been getting my hair cut and colored for several years. She opened the business at the corner of Warner Avenue and Bolsa Chica Street in 1987. With a steady group of hairdressers and technicians and their steady clients, the business flourished. Ursula liked the upstairs location and never imagined the salon being anywhere else.

Michele Marr On a recent Saturday morning, a dozen or so children pulled one-size-fits-all Christmas pageant costumes from a wardrobe closet at St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church and tested whether they all fit. Grant Fujii tussled with a pair of gleaming gold and feathered wings as large as himself. When he finally shouldered them, he took off his baseball cap and put it back on with its bill at the back. The Archangel Gabriel flashed a broad smile, lifted his arms and took flight.

JERRY PERSON Friday night is Christmas Eve and Saturday is Christmas, where has this year gone? I received a phone call recently from longtime Huntington Beach resident Eileen Stricklin Knee who wanted to let me know how much she enjoys reading about the Santa Claus parades and how we celebrated Christmas in our city in the past. With Christmas this week, I thought I would reflect back one more time on our famous Santa Claus parade. There is an old saying that it's not what you know, but whom you know, and for members of our city's Recreation Department this was certainly true.