December 16, 2005

Holiday Magic in Evergreen

Christmas and Hanukkah converge this year

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Seems as though it was just Thanksgiving, but like every year, time accelerates from the end of November to Dec. 25.
Local families flocked to two holiday celebrations in recent weeks—one a long-standing Evergreen tradition and the other just in its second year.

The Villages Hand Bell Ensemble dazzles a packed house with seamless bell ringing and a harmonious choir of voices. Photo by Michelle Hecht.

Night of Lights
Night of Lights celebrated its 20th anniversary at Raging Waters. After an invocation by Pastor Bob Chicou of Evergreen Valley Methodist Church, District 8 Councilmember Dave Cortese welcomed Evergreen families and led the countdown for the tree lighting on the highest slide.

A variety of musicians offered toe-tapping Christmas tunes, including the LeyVa and Chaboya Middle School bands, directed by Karen Kolber; the Evergreen Valley Methodist Church Choir; the Alum Rock Golden Handbells and the Granadosin Brothers.

The evening wouldn’t have been complete without a few Christmas carol sing-a-longs, photos with Santa and a spectacular fireworks display choreographed to “Handel’s Mes-siah.”

“On the 20th anniversary of the Night of Lights event on Dec. 10, the parts of the whole hummed as a well-tuned engine does,” said Carol Allsup, from the Evergreen Valley Service Organization. “The weather could not have been better, the student volunteers from Silver Creek High School and the photo-journalism students from San Jose State University were tireless.”

Allsup thanked the many sponsors “who presented the families of Evergreen with a fun, but meaningful, Christ-mas greeting.”

Shelby Jones portrays Santa’s elf at the Night of Lights celebration.

The primary sponsors for Night of Lights were Raging Waters, the Evergreen Times and Evergreen Valley Service Organization.

Co-sponsors included Beshoff MotorCars, Citation Homes, Shapell Industries, Golden Hills Professional Center, Pinn Brothers, McDonalds, KFC/ Taco Bell, King Road and All American Rentals.

Windermere’s Winter Wonderland
Windermere Sili-con Valley Properties presented its Second Annual Winter Won-derland, a four-day event at Canyon Creek Plaza, Dec. 8 to 11.

Children enjoyed making holiday crafts and sitting on Santa’s lap for a commemorative photograph. Adults were treated to refreshments and the sights and sounds of the season, including caroling by local groups. More than 1,000 families enjoyed the festivities.

“We really enjoy putting on this event,” said Pamela Kliewer of Windermere. “It gives us a wonderful opportunity to experience the joy of the season.”

Hanukkah at home
This year, Dec. 25 will be shared by those who celebrate Christmas Day and Hanukkah. The Marsh family of Evergreen will celebrate Hanukkah for eight days starting at sunset Dec. 25.

“Hanukkah is fun because it lasts for eight days instead of just one,” said Josh Marsh, who attends Evergreen Valley High School. “I also get to celebrate my cultural and religious heritage and learn about the story of Hanukkah. I say the blessings and eat the food typical of Hanukkah. I love latkes!”

Josh’s brother Spencer, a seventh grader at Quimby Oak Middle School, also likes Hanukkah because he usually gets to see his grandparents, who live in Chicago.

Alan Steinberg of Evergreen explains that Hanukkah stems back to about 2200 years ago, during the age of the Greek Empire, when the Kingdom of Israel was ruled by a Syrian king named Antiochus.

(From left) Youngest brother Ben Marsh watches his brothers Spencer and Josh demonstrate lighting the Hanukkah menorah.

“Following the Greek ideology that everyone should conform to Greek ways, he forced the Jews of Israel to adopt Greek gods, clothing, and language,” said Steinberg.

“This was accepted by some Jews, who adopted the Greek lifestyle. But there were other Jews who felt that the belief in their God, along with their culture and language, was worth fighting for. These fighters became known as the Maccabees. They were led by Mattathias and his son Judah “the Maccabee” (hammer).

“Unlike the Greek and Syrian armies, the vastly outnumbered Maccabees fought a guerilla war, slowly gaining ground against their enemies, until they finally prevailed. The Jewish people won their freedom from oppression and conformity, but at a price. The Holy Temple in Jerusalem had been defiled, with Jewish artifacts replaced by statues of Greek gods, and by the presence of pigs and other unclean animals.

“And the Eternal Lamp, which was to always remain lit, had only enough oil to last for one more day. It would take eight days to find replacement olive oil and bring it back. Miraculously, the oil meant for one day kept burning for eight, and burned until it was replenished. Then the Temple was cleaned out and purified, and then rededicated on the 25th of the month of Kislev, 164 BCE,” he concluded.

The word “Hanukkah” means “rededication,” and is celebrated for eight days from the 25th of Kislev on the Jewish calendar. Because the calendar is based on the lunar cycle, it can sometimes fall as early as late November, and as late as the last week of December.

Steinberg said it was not originally a holiday of gift-giving. “While that is a relatively new tradition (mostly in the US), there are still old traditions celebrated all around the world. We eat foods cooked in oil (potato pancakes or “latkes”) to remember the miracle of the oil. And we play “dreidel” to remember how the Jews secretly kept studying Hebrew even under Greek rule. And, of course, we burn the Hanukkah menorah by adding a new candle for each night of Hanukkah.”