The Nightmare After Christmas

Christmas, the jolliest time of the year! Time for ice skating rinks, presents, ornaments and Christmas trees. The city of Huntington Park holds it’s holiday tree lighting ceremony outside of City Hall every December. Everyone comes together to spread holiday cheer. The ceremony would bring more cheer to the city if it weren’t for the grinches that ruin these moments. Not everything is Christmas cheers during these times because every celebration has consequences. In order to keep everyone safe, the city closes the streets around the city hall area. Parking is a problem for those that live around the area and to those that are trying to attend the ceremony. People park in restricted areas marked with red paint because they are closer to the event. However, they don’t consider the dangers that come with the shortcut. Parking in those areas is a danger to both the drivers and the pedestrians considering that most of those areas are corners, increasing the risk of a car crash. The Christmas tree is so mesmerizing; it becomes hard to look away. The tree becomes a hazardous distraction, putting the drivers and pedestrians in risky situations. The tree lights are an even bigger problem at night when the greatest source of light is coming from the tree, which diverts the driver’s attention from the road. Junior at Libra Academy and resident of Huntington Park, Eveanna Del Cid, attended the tree lighting ceremony in 2014 for the first time. She decided to go with her family in search of “holiday cheer and family fun,” as City Hall announces it on their website. Eveanna was very pleased when she arrived because the ceremony “was really Christmassy and cute.” Her holiday spirit quickly came to an end. “I tried to enjoy myself, but there was trash everywhere.” Even one small detail can get in the way of a city’s celebration. All is jolly until the cleanup part of the ceremony comes along. City volunteers spent multiple hours cleaning up all the the trash left behind by the grinches. This year, there were wrappers, cups, plates, and even the flyers that were handed to the people. Everyone seemed to ignore the trash cans they constantly bumped into during the ceremony. Christmas is a time to spread holiday cheer; that is exactly what the Huntington Park tree lighting ceremony intended to do. This could’ve been one of the jolliest events for Christmas if it weren’t for the group of grinches that ruined this moment. Next time, let’s leave the grinches at home to allow the city to enjoy this wonderful time.

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