Holiday Traditions Bring Community Together

It is the beginning of the holiday season, and with it many communities are coming together to celebrate unique traditions. The residents in the city of Colton gathered together on Dec. 7 in front of City Hall to kick start the season with their annual tree lighting ceremony. The event began at 5:30 p.m. and was free to the public. Residents counted down the tree’s lighting with Mayor Richard DeLaRosa. The tree lighting event has been a long held tradition for the city of Colton according to, City of Colton Community Services Department, Recreation Coordinator Felipe, Vega Jr. Vega believed, in light of the recent events in San Bernardino, keeping the tradition was invaluable. “An event like this brings us closer together. It lets us know that there are things that happen in the world, but not to let it make us afraid. There are still good people—good things out there. It brings the community together for a positive reason,” Vega said. David Ream of the Colton Community Services Department, shared similar sentiments to Vega. “I think this brings everyone out together and brings the Christmas spirit. It also gets minds off of everything. I think something like this is great for the community,” Ream said. Following the ceremony, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus arrived in a grand entrance using one of the cities fire trucks. Santa and Mrs. Claus walked down La Cadena Drive, waving to the standing residents and children. Next they met with children on the City Hall lawn where parents could also have their children take photos with Santa. The children were given candy by Santa’s helpers. Both the City of Colton Community Services Department and Colton Chamber of Commerce worked to provide residents with free refreshments. Guests were able to enjoy fresh coffee, fruit punch, cookies and water. Staff member, Crystal Alcantar worked in the coffee station. This was her third year working the tree lighting ceremony. Alcantar said, “I love working it. I like seeing the people who come to Colton; I think is a very family-orientated city.” The residents were able to end the evening’s festivities by watching The Santa Claus 2. Vega noted that the movie was one of his favorite parts of the event. “I like the movie, I always enjoy having the movie here for the community. We have this huge screen we typically use in the summer. It’s nice to use it more for this event like this. I think people really enjoy it and are familiar with the film.”