B1 THE RUSTLER King City, CA 93930 B1 GREENFIELD NEWS Greenfield, CA 93927 B1 SOLEDAD BEE Soledad, CA 93960 B1 GONZALES TRIBUNE Gonzales, CA 93926 May 9, 2012
Holiday Issue
Issue: 3
The Christmas Tradition: Do We Know Why We Do What We Do?
By: Joel Sanchez and Gisela Solis King City — For thousands
of years, many unique sorts of trees have been sold during the winter season to celebrate the Christmas h o l i d a y. P e o p l e c h o o s e to decorate these sacred trees with ornaments and lights, and many display their tree in their living room as they want to share the beauty of their tree with family, friends, a n d p a s s e r s b y. B u t , d o e s anyone know why we use the Christmas tree as a s y m b o l f o r t h e h o l i d a y, what it may symbolize, or why we decorate it? Our team conducted interviews at KCHS among staff and students regarding these questions, to see if they were able to come up with some interesting insight into the reasoning behind the traditions. We interviewed a total of five people, all associated with KCHS, and three needed to google the answers to the questions at the culmination of their interviews because they were uncertain about the questions and the questions sparked genuine interest within them. According to research presented by Why Christmas, “In 1871 the first Christmas tree was put up and decorated. The
evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals mostly from Pagans and Christians for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of trees to d e c o r a t e t h e i r h o m e d u ring the winter. This made them think of the Spring to come after Christmas.” When asked about the significance of a tree during Christmas, a KCHS biology teacher expressed, “It reminds me of winter, and the tree smells good”. When we asked her about the decorations and the traditions tied to these decorations, she followed up with, “Every ornament I collect has a meaning to me”. A n o t h e r t e a c h e r, M r s . Callarman, who teaches drama at KCHS was asked the same question regarding the significance of the tree—“It’s a symbol of life and Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, is usually credited with having introduced the Christmas tree into England in 1840. However the honor of establishing this tradition in the united kingdom rightfully belongs to ‘ Good Queen Charlotte’, the German wife of George III, who set up the first known English tree at the Queen’s Lodge, Windsor, in December, 1800”. Her answer astonished us, as she seemed
Submitted photos
A traditional Christmas with Christmas tree and ornaments hundreds of years ago
Traditional Christmas Tree with Ornaments today, in current society a n o u t l i e r, s o m e o n e w h o was very educated on such an archaic topic. We then asked her about
the tradition of decorating the tree and she responded, “It looks pretty, it is festive, and it is fun.
It cheers us up in the cold winter”. From the interviews conducted and the responses gathered, we learned that beyond the history associated with the tree itself, people use Christmas trees because they are festive and the tradition helps people— f a m i l y, f r i e n d s , a n d o t h ers—bond. It also helps create an appreciation of the history behind Christmas. Still however, many remain in the dark as to why the Christmas tree exists, simply putting it up to “fit in”. Regardless of one’s motives or knowledge of trees, decorations, or tradition as a whole, it is the appreciation and love we share during the Christmas holiday that truly matters.
This 2015 Christmas Holiday, we, the KCHS Journalism class of 2015-2016, wish you, the KCHS and King City community a very merry and safe Christmas!
Little Ornament
King City’s Traditional Christmas Parade By: Andres Gomez, Alexis Gaytan, Jacob Venegas, and Luis Chavez K i n g C i t y — O n F r i d a y,
December 4th, 2015, the community was encouraged to head out to Broadway at 5:30 to enjoy the festivities and food, as the Annual King City Christmas parade embraced us with its holiday presence. A King City High School Senior, Maria Vasquez, who has attended these annual parades since she was 12, gave us a few words on what she thought the parade was going to include this year. “The parade is going to be full of joy, excitem e n t , h o l i d a y c h e e r, a n d the young and old getting together and joining in on the holiday festivities.” This year’s parade was the 17th annual night parade. In 1998, the city council changed the parade from Saturday morning, to Friday night. Ever since then, on every first Friday in December, the parade comes to town. This change allows the community to get together. More people come out to the parade now that it’s in the afternoon, rather than when it used to be held early in the mornings on Saturdays. “This change gives the parade a little different vibe—making it feel more l i k e a ‘ C h r i s t m a s s p i rit,’” Mrs. Benson, a KCHS Agriculture teacher, commented in regards to the change in parade timing. She added, “A lot more people were out celebrating the parade and there were a lot more floats — It was really a community comradery.” We continued to discuss the parade with Mrs. Benson, as she was enthusiastic about the topic. She further explained, “This year’s parade is just going to follow tradition like it has the previous years. I
Submitted photos
Annual King City Christmas Parade float covered in beautiful ornaments and lights liked when it changed to the night parade because that gave us the chance to decorate floats with lights which made it more fun and even more beautiful.” In addition to the Christmas parade, there is also an annual toy drive and clothes drive held from December 3rd to December 6th, 2015. These events both took place at our local King City Rite-Aid. There was also a business decorating contest held on December 4th. These activities get the community involved and heighten the holiday spirit. They also further inform the King City community of the Christmas parade, serving as precursors to the Christmas parade, an event which the majority of the community looks forward to every year. We f o l l o w e d u p w i t h Mrs. Benson after the parade, wishing to hear her thoughts and she ex plained, “My expectations
Graphic artwork done by Yesenia Chavez By: Yesenia Chavez
She hangs from the Christmas tree, frowning. And watches the kids come near by. Just to pick up their present they’ll soon throw away, in a year’s time. The parents talk and laugh as they watch the TV. It will soon enough ruin their brains with lots of immaturity.
Annual King City Christmas parade float of this parade were exceeded. The parade was a lot bigger than past years—It was a good parade.” For over 35 years, this parade has been a King City tradition. The entire community participates, including the fire department and local schools. King City High
School students join together and build a genuine float for the parade created from authentic student ideas. Every year more than 50 students go out and join the community in these parade festivities. This event is one of the few that brings the whole community together every year.
She sighs, knowing she’s only out on the tree for December. Only to be put in the Christmas box everyone will soon not remember. Her eyes begin to blur and she is depressed. As the string above her head becomes the only golden thread. She watches the same thing over and over. Becoming the one to actually see the memories and moments.
For she is, the Little Ornament.