Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Christmas in San Diego
    Christmas in San Diego
    Christmas in San Diego
    Ebook139 pages32 minutes

    Christmas in San Diego

    By Bill Swank

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    What is the true meaning of Christmas? The author believes the answer is found in the Golden Rule. Christmas should be about being good to one another. Christmas in San Diego, therefore, focuses on people who bring joy to others. Locals are blessed to have many special individuals who share their spirit to make Christmas in San Diego a special season for everyone. This book is divided into five chapters: the history of Christmas in San Diego, the many Christmas traditions throughout San Diego, the various ways Christmas is celebrated within the communities of San Diego County, unique San Diego Christmas trees, and lastly, some special Santa Diego Santas.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 26, 2015
    ISBN9781439653913
    Christmas in San Diego

    Read more from Bill Swank

    Related to Christmas in San Diego

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Pancho Claus Is Coming to Town

      Nov 14, 2023

      Pancho Claus Is Coming to Town
      9 min read

    • Article

      Best Of Indy

      Nov 25, 2022

      Best Of Indy
      10 min read

    • Article

      “Tomorrow Will Be Wonderful”

      Sep 11, 2019

      “Tomorrow Will Be Wonderful”
      8 min read

    • Article

      “Tomorrow Will Be Wonderful”

      Sep 11, 2019

      “Tomorrow Will Be Wonderful”
      8 min read

    • Article

      Radical Faeries

      Mar 1, 2024

      Radical Faeries
      4 min read

    • Article

      Hunter Barnes And The People

      Dec 7, 2021

      Hunter Barnes And The People
      7 min read

    • Article

      “I Never Mix Dressing With A Spoon; You Have To Roll Up Your Sleeves And Use Your Hands”

      Nov 20, 2023

      Find us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok @gardenandgun THE RITE OF SPRINGERS I had a black-and-white English springer spaniel (Cover, October/November 2023), and his name was Bentley. They sure are extra special dogs. As I was

      4 min read

    • Article

      From Imbibing Spirits to Spiritualist Mediums

      Feb 23, 2017

      My childhood friend has taken up residence in what was once her parents’ summer house in a small community built around a spiritualist campground in Niantic, Connecticut called Pine Cove. The Spiritualist temple—or tabernacle, as my friend calls it—s

      4 min read

    • Article

      Death Without Ceremony

      May 5, 2020

      Death Without Ceremony
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cal Thomas: Merry Tifton

      Dec 21, 2023

      Some years ago, D. James Kennedy preached a Christmas sermon at his Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, that became his most requested message. It was titled “Merry Tifton” and it was a metaphor based on a popular television s

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Year of Postponed Grief

      Aug 18, 2021

      The Year of Postponed Grief
      3 min read

    • Article

      Hunting for History Books

      Sep 3, 2019

      Hunting for History Books
      11 min read

    • Article

      Readers Respond merge

      Oct 29, 2020

      Readers Respond merge
      2 min read

    • Article

      Rises

      Feb 2, 2024

      Thank you for the piece, “Famous Potatoes” (Fall ’23) by Stephen Collector. I learned so much about Sun Valley Ranch and some of the adjacent lakes and rivers in Idaho. And it reminded me of the great interest “Papa” Hemingway and Richard Brautigan h

      2 min read

    • Article

      Fifteen Years of G&G

      Mar 21, 2022

      Fifteen Years of G&G
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Love Supreme

      Oct 9, 2021

      A Love Supreme
      5 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Letter

      Dec 22, 2021

      Editor’s Letter
      2 min read

    • Article

      I’ll Be Home for Christmas

      Nov 24, 2022

      I’ll Be Home for Christmas
      11 min read

    • Article

      Secure In Our Rituals

      Dec 10, 2021

      Secure In Our Rituals
      8 min read

    • Article

      Books With The Most Impact

      Mar 15, 2023

      Books With The Most Impact
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Final Note

      Jun 19, 2019

      The Final Note
      12 min read

    • Article

      One Equal Light

      Dec 1, 2021

      WHEN the invitation came, we were a little mystified. In beautiful lettering on stiff creamy card, it read: The Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Board of St Paul’s Cathedral Trust in America request the pleasure of your company for an intimate con

      3 min read

    • Article

      Your LETTERS

      Nov 12, 2021

      Your LETTERS
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Christmas in San Diego

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Christmas in San Diego - Bill Swank

      contact.

      INTRODUCTION

      Swank is a tall, burly, white-bearded guy. You need more

      description? OK, imagine Santa Claus’ younger brother.

      Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune

      The author is pictured here at various stages of his life: (from left to right) in 1950, 1962, 1978, and 2007—showing his evolving resemblance to Santa Claus.

      I didn’t know I’d end up looking like I do, but when you are a mature gentleman with a full white beard, rubicund cheeks, and an ample belly, Santa-for-hire entrepreneurs, photographers, and real bearded Santa organizations seek you out. I never saw myself as Santa Claus. Specifically, I couldn’t imagine selling myself as a mall Santa or private party Santa. Santa is special, and I’m one of those people who think Christmas is too commercialized. Wearing the red suit wasn’t for me.

      Until something magical happened.

      One evening, while loading my plate at HomeTown Buffet, I felt something on my leg. I looked down and saw a little Mexican girl with both arms wrapped around my leg. She looked up and said, I love you, Santa.

      My heart melted.

      A woman standing nearby asked if that happened often. I told her that the older I got, the more it happened.

      Within a year, my wife and I were at a neighbor’s party. Two women approached me to ask me a question. They represented the Community Christmas Center Committee in Balboa Park, and they needed a new Santa Claus.

      When my kids were small, we regularly visited the life-sized Christmas story dioramas that the Community Christmas Center Committee maintains at the Organ Pavilion. This was a rare opportunity to become part of a traditional, noncommercial celebration of the Christmas season.

      I have been their volunteer Santa since 2002.

      The focus of this book is on unique San Diego Christmas traditions, celebrations, and the many wonderful San Diegans who enjoy sharing their Christmas cheer and spirit with others.

      SNAPSHOTS OF SAN DIEGANS ENJOYING CHRISTMAS. Pictured are Wendell and Jean Lisle, the Noble family (Rachel, Kelly, Ron, Nathaniel, and Santa), Paul and Christy Gerencser.

      MERRY CHRISTMAS. Santa Swank is pictured spreading Christmas cheer.

      One

      HISTORY

      Merry Christmas from Sunny San Diego

      December 25, 1894 Temperature: 70 Degrees

      THE CHRISTMAS BABE. On Christmas Eve, 1775, while Capt. Juan Bautista de Anza was leading a group of 240 settlers and soldiers from Sonora, Mexico, to Monterey in Alta California, a soldier’s wife gave birth to a baby boy in Coyote Canyon, near Borrego Springs. Appropriately, the child was named Salvador, which is Spanish for savior.

      LA PASTORELA. The first Christmas celebrations in San Diego were church plays known variously as Los Pastores, La Pastorela, and El Diablo en la Pastorla. Their Spanish origin focused more on the conflict between good and evil than the birth of Christ. The central characters were the angel Gabriel and the fallen Lucifer. Alfred Robinson, a Yankee merchant from New England and the author of Life in California, wrote this detailed description of an 1830 performance of Los Pastores in San Diego.

      CHRISTMAS DAY, 1838. Guests were enjoying La Pastorela in the home of Juan Bandini (left) when their holiday was disrupted by troops of Gov. Juan Alvarado. Future California governor Pio Pico (right), who was playing the role of the devil, was among five men taken prisoner and later released.

      STILL AIR TORMENTED BY JINGLE BELLS. The earliest published news account of Christmas appeared on December 10, 1853, in The San Diego Herald. The annual Fiesta of the Patrona ran from December 8th to December 25th that year. Apparently, the Grinch was a cub reporter for the short-lived Herald. The article noted, the still air was tormented by the jingle of bells. The Herald was published in the Robinson House, shown here after being reconstructed in Old Town State Park.

      CHRISTMAS—HOW IT WAS CELEBRATED. Under this December 27, 1871, headline, The Daily Union reported, A number of guests at the Horton House (pictured) spent the evening preceding Christmas in the parlor with the intention of bidding each other a ‘Merry Christmas’ at midnight. As soon as the clock struck twelve an interchange of Christmas salutations took place, and immediately thereafter those assembled proceeded to the dining room which had been made ready for the purpose, and indulged in a dance.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1