HOLIDAYS WITH ROOTS

The holiday season means many things to many people. Living in a melting pot as we do, we can look around and find myriad holiday traditions. Many of these celebrations involve flowers, foliage or fruit from the garden.

When it comes to decorating for Hanukkah, Carol Goldmark’s attention focuses on her collection of menorahs. Goldmark, who lives in Buena Park, places a candelabrum on the dining room table and adds flowers, leaves, fresh pomegranates and citrus.

“Much emphasis is placed on preparing the holiday table because Hanukkah centers on gathering the family and retelling the story of why we celebrate the holiday,” Goldmark said.

Although gifts are given during Hanukkah, they are not a true part of the holiday, said her husband, Rabbi Lawrence Goldmark, who has been at Temple Beth Ohr in La Mirada for 22 years.

“Hanukkah actually involves religious freedom,” he said.

The holiday celebrates an event that took place about 165 BC in what is now Israel. The ruler at the time was non-Jewish and attempted to convert the Jews, but a small group fought the conversion. The ruler gave up after three years, but during that time the Jewish temple was desecrated. They eventually rebuilt and rededicated it. “Hanukkah” means “rededicate” in Hebrew. There are eight days to the celebration, which is why menorahs have eight branches, plus one for the servant candle that lights the others. As the Goldmarks light each candle during Hanukkah, they bring in a new flower from the garden.

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When Paul Apodaca, a Navajo, decided to celebrate the holidays 15 years ago, he knew that a Christmas tree--which is of European origin--just wouldn’t do.

“I wanted to put presents under something that would make me feel inclusive of the season but not be too foreign to who I am and my roots,” said Apodaca, who teaches courses about American Indians and culture at Chapman University in Orange and is a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

After some thought, Apodaca came up with the idea of creating a Southwestern-style Christmas. He purchased a synthetic cactus that resembles a saguaro, which he decorates with chile-pepper lights, cornhusks and hand-woven folk dolls from the Southwest, Mexico and South America.

“Although my cactus seemed like the natural choice from someone with my background, I’ve been surprised to not find anyone else with the same idea,” Apodaca said. “For me, it makes perfect sense.”

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Christmas is the time for Connie Ortiz to teach her grandchildren about their Mexican heritage.

“It’s important to me that my grandchildren learn about their cultural roots,” said Ortiz, who was born in Mexico. “I try to preserve my culture in my holiday decorations by including significant plants, fruit and vegetables from the garden.”

At the center of many of Ortiz’s decorations is the poinsettia, which is native to Mexico. Every December, Ortiz buys one or two dozen to decorate inside and outside her Orange home.

Ortiz, a master gardener who teaches nutrition for the University of California Cooperative Extension, also creates wreaths for holiday decorations, using many dried foods important in her culture, including cornhusks, limes and chiles.

As a final touch and a good source for snacking, she fills her home with festive bowls of in-season fruit from the garden, such as cherimoyas, guavas and papayas.