FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 THE NEW MEXICAN SECTION C
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for and by teens
Santa Claus Santa Claus visits with 2-month-old Silas Greenfield at DeVargas Center. TILCARA WEBB/GENERATION NEXT
in anticipation for the visit of famed St. Nick. These Dutch traditions migrated to the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries, and “Sinterklaas” took the Americanized name of Santa Claus. Washington Irving’s Knickerbocker’s History of New York, published in the early 1800s, helped transform St. Nicholas into a pipesmoking, plump, jolly old lad. Soon after a man named Clement Moore published a poem called “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (aka “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”) — and the Santa Claus we know came to life in America, driving a herd of reindeer, sporting a white beard and a soft suit, and delivering gifts to the kiddies. Today, malls are alive with the hustle and bustle of children waiting to talk to Santa. As he does every year, Santa Claus is visiting Santa Fe, stopping at the DeVargas Center to take note of kids’ wish lists. “Most of the kids love Santa as much as Santa loves them,” Santa Claus told Generation Next during a recent interview at the mall. Though there was a time when kids mostly played with toy trucks, trains, dolls and horses, today most of them ask for electronic devices such as iPhones. “I guess you could say that kids nowadays have toys that connect them with other people,” Santa said,
By Aurelia Valente and Tilcara Webb Generation Next
F
or as long as many can remember, songs and movies and stories have depicted the Christmas Eve adventures of Santa Claus. Letters from children are still postmarked to his North Pole address, and milk and cookies are set out for him when he comes down the chimney. Although children have come to expect Santa during the colder months of the year, the Santa most people know today wasn’t always known as the jolly old fellow decked out in red and white who showed up once a year. Santa Claus has come a long way since his humble beginnings as the Christian icon St. Nicholas. St. Nick lived in the early 14th century in what is now Turkey, and his life brought about the stories of generosity and selflessness that are now hallmarks of Santa Claus. He bestowed his wealth upon others, and his life’s work consisted of charity to those in need, particularly children and sailors. He became a favorite for many, and in some countries, traditions began to arise around his deeds. In Holland and other parts of Europe, children left sweets and treats
What is your favorite part about the holiday season in Santa Fe?
Ruby Loya Capital High “Being with my family.”
Manuel Chavez, Capital High “All the lights on the Plaza, seeing all the Christmas decorations around town is just amazing.”
Brenda Barrios Capital High “The atmosphere, there are a lot of positive vibes.”
Kristin Mackowski, Santa Fe High “My favorite part of the holidays in Santa Fe is the view of the mountains. When the seasons change, the view changes into beautiful yellow hills, then into white, crystal-filled hills.”
adding that the change is a good thing “because it’s bringing the whole world together.” Many kids do ask for gifts that are not toys, Santa said. “A lot of kids see beyond ‘what’s in my toy box’ to what’s going on in the world. And there’s a lot of [requests for] pets … and that’s good, because, again, it gives you a way to get outside of yourself. And there are always kids who would really like something like a mom or a dad, or a brother or sister, or something like that.” Although his image has changed since the time of St. Nicholas, the nature of Santa Claus has stayed the same, he said: “Being Santa means being kind of the point man for the whole Christmas spirit and for the idea that giving is a heck of a lot more fun than receiving, because when you do nothing but get stuff, you turn into an Ebenezer Scrooge. But when you … give people things, you make not just one person happy, you make lots of people happy.” Santa said his elves work very hard in preparation for the big day. “They know why they’re up there at the Pole, and they know that it’s something that’s very important to a lot of kids.” The number of elves working the toy assembly line ranges from 1,000 to 10,000 at once, but rest assured, they get summer and fall
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Keagen Edwards “The luminarias because I get to walk and spend time with my family.”
Arlen Lopez, Santa Fe High “What I like about the holiday season here, in Santa Fe, is that everyone gets into it, and it becomes an enjoyable experience.”
Eric Walker, Santa Fe High “My favorite part of the holiday season is seeing the trees get covered with snow.”
COMPILED BY BLANCA ORTIZ AND ELIZABETH SANCHEZ/GENERATION NEXT
5 films to get into the holiday spirit By Emily Davis Generation Next
With Christmas less than a week away, it’s time to curl up in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate and a holiday film — and why not revisit your childhood with an animated movie? If you’ve grown tired of endless viewings of Home Alone and It’s a Wonderful Life, it may mean you do not remember the dozens of Christmas movies that have faded into hazy memory. The following animated films, while made for youngsters, will remind even jaded adults of the joy and excitement that can surround the holiday season. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970): The long-standing dispute over which of these movies is better necessitates a joint description as Christmas is no time to anger a committed fan. While Rudolph — celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — tells the story of everyone’s favorite reindeer and ends with the message that even misfits can belong. Santa Claus provides a creative background on Kris Kringle’s life and features the voice talents of Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney. Both heartwarming films include beloved musical numbers, so
it’s hard to say which one takes the cake — which is why rewatching both is a good idea. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Charlie Brown has been depressed all year because he can’t understand what Christmas is all about. He likes the presents (when he gets any), the carols and the snow — yet he feels the true meaning of the holiday is hidden by the commercialism that has overwhelmed the event. When Charlie defies his friends’ wish for an aluminum tree by bringing home a real scrawny one — and when Linus delivers a moving message about the meaning of Christmas — the Peanuts gang rediscover the holiness and generosity that are still so crucial to the day. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): The Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff) is the antagonist — or maybe protagonist — of this 26-minute TV special. Though his shriveled heart prompts him to steal presents, trees and decorations from the nearby town of Whoville in an attempt to ruin Christmas, the sound of the villagers’ still-cheerful caroling brings about a realization: Christmas isn’t about the external trappings but the gratitude that exists in every soul. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): Produced and co-written by Tim Burton,
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this movie features skeleton Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon), the king of Halloween Town, who has grown bored with nighttime terrors and is searching for a new life. When he accidentally opens a portal into Christmas Town, his fascination with the holiday makes him attempt to recreate it at home — with disastrous results. After being punished for his skeletal reindeer and shrunken-head stocking stuffers, Jack realizes that he can never take Santa’s place and that he should be thankful to be in the role he was born to fill. The Polar Express (2004): Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, this film tells the story of a boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara) who boards an express to the North Pole on Christmas Eve in an effort to prove the existence of Santa Claus. After adventures with two new-found friends, the enigmatic conductor (voiced by Tom Hanks), and the spectral hobo atop the train, the boy arrives at the North Pole and discovers that his journey taught him that the most tangible feelings in the world — Christmas spirit, for example — are things we cannot easily see. Emily Davis is a senior at Santa Fe Prep. Contact her at emilydavis@sfprep.org.
breaks. Asked whether he pays his elves, Santa said, “They get taken care of.” Santa was reluctant to reveal whether he had a favorite reindeer, saying his favorite is whichever he is taking care of at the moment. “Actually,” he said, “there’s a reindeer named Leo, who’s on the second string, and he’s kind of got a cute sense of humor. I kind of like him. But I love them all. Because that’s one of the things that over the past 1,600 and some years I’ve developed — this technique of loving everyone without having any special favorites. They’re all favorites.” The best part about being Santa, he said, is “being able to make people feel better about themselves.” It can get kind of hard with the long, late hours and traveling in the cold winter night, not to mention breathing in a little chimney soot now and then. “But on the whole, it’s pretty good,” Santa said. Santa Claus will be at DeVargas Center mall on Guadalupe Street from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 1 to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Christmas Eve) of next week. Contact Aurelia Valente, a freshman at Santa Fe High, at aureliatanei@gmail.com, and Tilcara Webb, a junior at Santa Fe School for the Arts, at tilcara.webb@gmail.com.
MY VIEW EMILY DAVIS
Why Christmas in Santa Fe is special
I
have experienced the traditional Canyon Road farolito walk exactly once in my life. I was about 5 years old, and all I can remember about that night was that I was freezing, exhausted and too short to see anything that was going on (if, indeed, anything was). Since then, I have never felt the need to leave my house on Christmas Eve or to take part in any of the activities leading up to Christmas that are supposedly integral to the Santa Fe holiday season. I do not enter the Palace of the Governors, I do not join the Las Posadas procession — though I think it is a lovely custom — and when it comes to winter activities, I confess that I do not ski. Looking at it from a stranger’s perspective, it would seem that I am a sort of Southwestern Scrooge who is shouting “Bah, humbug!” at my hometown’s Christmas traditions and raining on everyone’s Canyon Road parade. And yet, in spite of everything, I volunteered to write about why I love Christmas in Santa Fe. For me, the holidays here have always been more about atmosphere than display, more about unexpected discoveries than attractions that people want to see. I rejoice at the first sight of Christmas lights draped over the fence of the hotel near my house. I feel a leap of excitement when, walking around my neighborhood, I catch the first tang of wood smoke and roasted chile in the air — a smell I will miss when I leave for college next year, for it
can’t possibly exist in any city but mine. Though I refuse to participate in a walk devoted to farolitos, I love to see them winking at me from rooftops and street corners. I wait all year for the special kind of darkness that only comes at Christmas-time — a darkness born of a sky untouched by artificial light, almost holy in its silent promise. One year, my father and I went to buy a Christmas tree, and we couldn’t find one. It was Dec. 21, and our usual sellers had packed up and gone home — as had seemingly every other tree vendor in town. Finally, on a tip from a sympathetic store owner, we drove for miles up Old Pecos Trail and parked on what felt like the top of the highest, most godforsaken mountain in the world. A blizzard suddenly kicked in, yet there stood a small group of men, huddled against the storm, with a few forlorn Christmas trees beside them. Those trees might not have looked as dazzling as the ones in the department stores, but they were fresh — and, despite the snow, the cheerfully smiling men helped us load one into our car. This event, among others, taught me what I now believe about Christmas in Santa Fe: It’s not about the show or the holiday crowd. All you really need to enjoy it is a willing heart and a love of the true — though sometimes hidden — spirit of your hometown. Emily Davis is a senior at Santa Fe Prep. Contact her at emilydavis@sfprep.org.
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