EAST TEXAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Presents
Avoid the Christmas crunch! Find gifts inside for the holiday season.
SmallBusinessSaturday Your moneyy makes a major impact in East Texas
By Christina Cavazos Local retailers have been busy preparing for Small Business Saturday, an American shopping holiday held the first Saturday after Thanksgiving each year. Though there won’t be formal events in downtown Longview or downtown Tyler this year due to social distancing, both cities are planning to make the day special for local businesses. In Longview, Main Street Coordinator Melida Heien said a gingerbread cookie selfie station will be out downtown for people to take pictures while they shop and the city recently erected a Christmas tree downtown to add to the holiday spirit. In Tyler, Main Street Director Amber Varona said she is creating a map that features local retailers in downtown Tyler so shoppers can easily find locallyowned businesses. “It’s really important to shop small, especially right now,” Varona said. “Our small, locally-owned businesses give Downtown Tyler a community feel. These business owners are the people you see walking down the street and at the grocery store. This is a time to support them and show them how important they are to our community.” American Express established Small Business SMALL BUSINESS continued page 2 Pictured, Ryan Ashworth spends his afternoon shopping at The Brown Duck and Manager Melissa Sorensen of The Gallery of Lights speaks about the items available for purchase other than lighting on Thursday November 19. (Michael Cavazos/ News-Journal Photos)
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SMALL BUSINESS from page 1 Saturday in 2010 in the midst of an economic recession as an effort to encourage holiday shopping at small businesses. The 10th anniversary of the shopping holiday comes amid the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic that has placed financial strain on small, locally-owned businesses. “We want to be able to see and visit these small businesses next year and the year after that and the year after that. They are vital to our community,” Varona said. “The contribute to our economic vitality. When you shop local, a higher percentage of what you pay to the store goes back into the local economy.” Studies show that about 70% of revenue from small businesses is reinvested into the community. At big box retailers, studies estimate that just 10% to 30% of revenue is reinvested in that community. For small business owners, that revenue means they are able to provide for their own families and reinvest that money by shopping in the community as well. “It benefits the community to shop local. It fosters that community spirit,” said Melissa Sorensen, manager of The Gallery of Lights, a lighting store in Longview that also features home decor and gifts. Sorensen said small businesses are in a better position to become familiar with their customers, often recognizing them by name. “We make a personal connection with our customers,” she said. Additionally, for small business owners like Sorensen, shopping local helps with their overall livelihood. “It has a huge impact when peopel choose to shop with us. We all have families that rely
on us,” she said. “This has a been a tough year.” Many small businesses, including The Gallery of Lights, have made adaptations such as employees wearing face masks, frequent cleaning and hand sanitization stands to help customers feel safer this year. “We try to make sure everyone is safe when they come here,” she said. “We also give people a more personal approach to shopping and give them the customer service they desire.” The Longview Chamber of Commerce has worked with local businesses to put out “Shop Local” signage and campaign materials at their stores. Additionally, the chamber has used social media platforms to help raise awareness for shopping small. Tyler Main Street has also helped small businesses with shopping local signage and campaign materails and has been using Facebook to promote businesses, offering up gift ideas and tagging local retailers, Varona said. Many local businesse will have Small Business Saturday sales to encourage customers to stop by. Some, such as Barron’s and The Brown Duck in Longview, will be offering gifts with purchases.
“We’re really focusing on Small Business Saturday and hope people will shop with us,” said Paula Walters, who co-owns The Brown Duck with her husband, David Walters. Walters reiterated what others also said: it’s important for people to consider shopping local because more of their money will be reinvested into the community. “We pay local taxes and we shop at and help support other local businesses,” she said. Heien said she encourages people to shop local on Small Business Saturday, but also to consider local retailers all year long. “Our local businesses do so much for our community. They sponsor local events, like Downtown Live and Great Texas Balloon Race. They pay taxes in our community, which helps contribute to the infrastructre in our city and things like having roads without potholes and clean water,” Heien said. Additionally, small businesses are more apt to get to know their customers and offer a personalized shopping experience, she said. “They build relationships with their customers. Business isn’t just a transaction for them,” Heien said. “That’s so important because we’re all in this together. We have to support each other.”
Pictured, Ryan Ashworth, above, spends his afternoon shopping at The Brown Duck and Manager Melissa Sorensen of The Gallery of Lights speaks about the items available for purchase other than lighting on Thursday November 19. (Michael Cavazos/ News-Journal Photos)
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Many people may not get in the holiday spirit without decorations and all the trimmings. Chances are strong that if you have containers full of items just waiting to see the light of day again this holiday season, those items are red or green or some combination thereof. Red and green have become the traditional colors of Christmas, just as blue and white symbolizes Chanukah. But how did this color palette come to evolve? Just like many traditions of Christmas, the red and green scheme has origins that pre-date the Christian celebration. Christmas has borrowed from many of the customs of winter solstice celebrations of ancient peoples, including the Celts. Ancient Celtic people revered holly plants, believing they brought beauty and good fortune in the middle of winter in a time when the landscape is normally bleak and holly plants thrive and stand out. Celts would regularly bring in sprigs of holly and decorate their homes with the plants, which feature shiny, serrated leaves and bright, red berries, as a way to guarantee a prosperous new year. Holly also came to be associated with the crown of thorns Jesus Christ was forced to wear during his crucifixion. While red and green had associations with Christmas in early times through holly and other sources, the connection was perhaps best solidified thanks to a man named Haddon Sundblom. Sundblom was an artist commissioned in 1931 by the Coca-Cola company to create an image of Santa Claus for the company’s upcoming holiday ads. Until this point, versions of Santa were rarely consistent, with his clothing vacillating between green, blue and red. He also wasn’t the plump, jolly fellow associated with Christmas as we know him today, but rather thin and elf-like. Sundblom portrayed him as a chubby man wearing red robes, likely as a nod to Coca-Cola’s own red logo, even though the company denies the connection. Santa was featured in front of a green background. The ads proved popular and Sundblom’s Santa became the preferred depiction. Santa’s red robes perfectly complemented the green background and other green components of the holiday, such as Christmas trees and holly, that already had been solidified as Christmas imagery. Color plays a strong role in creating Christmas nostalgia. Red and green are put on vivid display throughout the season.
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The 112 days of Christmas, also known as the Twelvetide, refers to the festive Christian season that celebrates the Nativity of Jesus. ‘On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.’ The familiar lyrics of this tune are sung as part of Christmas caroling and holiday celebrations, reaching a crescendo each time singers belt out ‘five golden rings.’ The song is an English Christmas carol that was written in 1720. While it references plenty of gift-giving, it’s easy to assume the song is about giving Christmas gifts. However, the 12 days in the song actually refer to the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, the start of these days occurs on December 25 and extends until the evening of January 5th, the day before the Epiphany, known as Twelfth Night.
Each day corresponds to a remembrance of different religious events or people. Christmas celebrants can celebrate well into the new year. Commemorating the 12 days of Christmas can include small festivities from December 25 to January 5. On Twelfth Night, historically known for parties, modern-day fanfare can mark the culmination of the Christmas season, with the last of giftgiving occurring on the Epiphany. Gifting, hosting friends and family, attending religious services, participating in charitable events, or opening one’s home to neighbors and those who can use some companionship are all ways to make the 12 days of Christmas more special.
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The red foliage on poinsettias are actually modified leaves called bracts. The flowers are the small, yellow buds in the center of the plant.
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oinsettias and their rich red, white or variegated color schemes are the ideal backdrop for Christmas celebrations. In fact, poinsettias are among the most popular decorative flowers during the holiday season. Roughly 34 million poinsettia plants are sold in a given season. Indigenous to Central America, the plant was introduced to North America in the 1820s when Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, brought the red-and-green plant back with him from a trip abroad. While millions of poinsettias will be purchased for the holiday season, many mistakenly think their utility ends once New Year’s Day has come and gone. But with proper care poinsettia plants can continue to thrive and bring warmth and beauty to a home long after the holiday decorations have been tucked away.
• Choose a hearty plant. Experts say that many people mistake the plant’s leaves for its flowers. The red, white or pink bracts are actually modified leaves. The flowers of the plant are the yellow clustered buds in the center called ‘cyathia.’ Choose poinsettia plants that have buds which are, ideally, not yet open. • Keep the temperature consistent. Poinsettias prefer a room temperature between 60 and 68 F during the day and 10 degrees cooler at night. Humidity levels between 20 and 50 percent are ideal. Group plants on water-filled trays full of pebbles to help increase humidity levels. • Place near sunlight. The United Kingdombased Perrywood floral company advises placing poinsettia plants near a bright windowsill but not in direct sunlight. Do not
let a poinsettia touch cold window panes. • Avoid drafts. The plants are sensitive to drafts and changes in temperature. So it’s best to keep poinsettias away from drafty doors, windows, radiators, or fireplaces. • Don’t drown the roots. Wait until the surface of the compost dries out before watering the plant anew. Also, the decorative foil wrapper that covers pots can trap water and lead to root rot. Remove it or poke holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. • Cut back plants. Come mid-March, cut back the plant by half to encourage new shoots, suggests the University of Illinois Extension. The plants also can be placed outside in the spring after the risk of frost has passed. Bring poinsettias back in around mid-September to early October to force them to bloom again.
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Did you know? Consumers may readily recognize Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the holiday shopping lexicon. But what about Super Saturday? Super Saturday, sometimes called “Panic Saturday,” refers to the final Saturday before Christmas. This can be a big day for retailers. Super Saturday deals tend to target last-minute shoppers who wait until the very end to make the majority of their purchases or pick up those final gifts. Super Saturday 2020 occurs on December 19.
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