By Terra Avilla
It is a pretty hefty responsibility to write a special article which will debut on Christmas. What could I possibly choose to be the feature of this week’s community goodness that deserves to run on Christmas Day? I had been thinking nonstop about it the past week, when I realized that I simply couldn’t do it – I could not decide on what singular thing would best describe the magic within our community for this very special and magical Christmas Day.
Then I realized that was my problem.
Christmas in Lassen County is not contained to “one day”. It is the entirety of the holiday season, which although it makes it a blessing to live here, makes it incredibly difficult to distinguish one particular thing to highlight. Because… there are so many fantastic things that make a Lassen Holiday Season so special.
They all cumulate and become one entity. Our little community has a Christmas Season like nothing I have ever seen.
Our businesses, neighbors, friends and family, truly encapsulate the meaning of the season. Love, compassion and goodwill toward man. It’s the million little things I see every day within our community this time of year that make it so special.
It’s the trademark drapings hung with care by Public Works, throughout Main Street. It’s the Festival of Lights at the Fairgrounds, which have become a staple in my family’s Christmas traditions.
It’s talking with your friend about Christmas lights, and discussing the large, lighted, circular Christmas Wreath on Richmond Road, and knowing exactly what house they are talking about.
It’s the annual Nutcracker performance at the Veteran’s hall that is filled with the youngest of our hometown treasures.
There is so much to love about “small town Christmases,” that to narrow it down to a singular thing would be impossible. How do you objectify the feeling you get from seeing your best friend ringing the red bell at the entrance to your local supermarket, or waving hello to gym mate as you both stand in line to donate a toy to the Toys for Tots gift drive?
And let’s not forget the holiday homecomings. You know, like when you ugly cry because you see that Layne Jones is back from boot camp, and you can’t help but smile because you have known her family for years and watching her hug her mother warms your heart.
Or welcoming back the dozens of first time college students who came back for semester break, like Kendall Hubbard, my sweet neighbor I’ve watched grow the past six years.
It’s these million little things that only happen because of where we live. It’s our community sharing the holidays within our community. It’s going to your child’s Christmas Program and smiling because you have literally been a part off all your child’s classmates’ lives. You are just as excited to see them sing as you are to see your own child, because as a community, Lassen County is so close knit – we are the proverbial village you always hear about when it comes to raising a child.
It’s the fact we still have cute little Christmas carolers that go around singing, and it’s the fact that Christmas just wouldn’t feel like Christmas if uptown Susanville did not have their giant tree at the top of town. Christmas truly is not about what’s under the tree, it’s about all the blessings around it. And those blessing are abundant here in Lassen County.
There is no other place in the world that I would rather spend my holiday season than with my friends and family, here in Lassen County – who are so many of the reasons why I love the place we live. I am wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
