EVERY family has its own set of Christmas traditions. Our family is no different. Christmas has changed a lot since my sisters and I have grown older, but the traditions haven't really changed. Strike a pose:
Sitting with Santa’s coolFrom the time we were young, around the ages of two and three, we'd wake up early to open our gifts. The rule was that we can't open presents without both parents in the house.
My mom works nights so we have to wait until about 9 a.m. Christmas Day for her to come home. One Christmas we woke up really early and my dad let us open our gifts without mom. She was really sad and I guess that's why we started that rule, although now that we're getting older, it means my parents have gotten lazy. We have to practically yell and drag them out of bed Christmas Day. I guess even us kids get a little lazy. We've been sleeping past our usual 6 a.m. waking time.
This is the first year that my youngest sister Kyle, who's 11, doesn't believe in Santa Claus. It seemed pretty obvious what was going on, but she continued to believe. She stopped believing when Santa didn't bring her the swimming pool she wanted in the back yard.
I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago. Maybe it was because Santa was late a couple of years. Thinking he had forgotten us, we told our parents who shot up right away, yelling at us to go brush our teeth and change our clothes while they rushed to put out our gifts. Afterward, they told us we didn't look hard enough for our gifts because they were there the whole time. Now we know the truth. Still, I can't resist taking pictures with Santa at the mall.
Ever since I was born we'd see Santa at Ala Moana Center to sit on his lap to tell him what we want, take a picture and get ready to ride the big train in the exhibition area. Riding the train was the best part for me, but after a while, the shopping center did away with the train. After that, we'd go to Windward Mall, which is in our neighborhood, to take pictures.
It was around 6th grade that I started being a little embarrassed about doing it, but I continued to do it because it was a family tradition that made my mother happy.
This was when we decided we had to go back to Ala Moana to take Santa pictures because we didn't want any of our friends to see us at Windward Mall.
My excuse, when my friends caught me in the act, used to be, "Well, Kyle is still young so we need to take those pictures."
Now Kyle's older and I can't use that excuse anymore.
I have to admit that it's just me. I want to keep the tradition alive and continue until Kyle is 18. I still get embarrassed about the photo sessions, but I like to do it anyway. It's neat to look at the photos to see how we've changed from year to year.
IN the course of taking these photos, I've become something of a Santa expert.
Every Santa has a different look. For several years, there was one Santa at Ala Moana who actually had a real beard and glasses and nothing seemed false about him, down to that Santa sparkle in his eyes.
These days, some Santas seem to be so young and look so fake with their cotton-padded bellies and fake beards. One year, my summer fun leader was Santa! How real is that?
Santa doesn't really have to be fat you know, or have that traditional Santa costume. He just has to have that look, that sparkle in his eyes to actually make you believe he's real.
There's no magic, no pixie dust or tricks that go into creating Christmas. Eventually, we learn that Christmas comes from the heart. It's a time to share our happiness and to show appreciation for all the love and kindness we received all year. And that feeling is magic in itself.
Liane Kaneko is a junior at Castle High School and
says she's posing with Santa at Ala Moana today.Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature allowing teens and young adults to serve up fresh perspective. Guys and girls speak up by fax at 523-8509; by answering machine at 525-8666; snail mail at P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802; or e-mail, features@starbulletin.com