Christmas in Los Angeles: Our Traditions

No snow? No problem. We'll be dreaming of a White Christmas for a long time to come here in L.A., but it doesn't matter: There are plenty of places to find Christmas in L.A., and we try to make the most of it every year.

The snow is here, of course -- but safely ensconced above 7,000 feet. Back down here, the weather cooperated -- making for a sunny, mild Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (The rain returned for a visit on Christmas night, but we were cozily cooped up back at home by then.)

Christmas Eve in Downtown L.A. has become an annual tradition for us, starting with the 4 p.m. family mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Yes, the "Taj Mahony," decked out for Christmas, offers up a Christmas Eve mass that's perfect for the little ones: Not too long, and with a homily, music and prayers geared toward the little ones.

After mass, it's a quick walk across the street to the Music Center, to catch the 51st Annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration. The annual free event, featuring choirs, dancers, bands and more, is one of L.A.'s great Christmas staples.

This year's event was cut by half (from six hours to three) due to budget cuts. That turned out to be serendipitous for us. Last year, the line was too long for us to try to get inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to catch the show.

But this year, we got to the Music Center at 5:30 -- and with the show about to end, the standby line was minimal. We managed to get inside in time to see the two final acts: the Palmdale High School Choral Union and Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez, which closed the show. After that, the crowd sang along to "Silent Night," and then we were back in the Music Center plaza.

On Christmas day, we were back downtown for one of our favorite L.A. holiday attractions: Downtown on Ice in Pershing Square. The ice rink was crowded, yet not too bad. It was kind of nice to be there with a cross section of Los Angeles, all skating under the shadow of downtown's skyscrapers at dusk.

After our hour-long ice skating session, we dashed across the street to check out the Biltmore hotel, dressed up for the season.

Pics from our Christmas in Los Angeles:


Cathedral entrance.


Art exhibit at the cathedral.


Exiting the cathedral.


Cardinal Mahony's final Christmas before his February retirement.


Nativity scene at the Our Lady Queen of the Angels cathedral.


Outside the Music Center and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as the L.A. County Holiday Celebration winds down.


It's a real-life 'Glee': Palmdale High School Choral Union performs at the L.A. County Holiday Celebration.


At the L.A. County Holiday Celebration; final act, Mariachi Sol de Mexico (led by Jose Hernandez), above.


Inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.


Christmas tree at the Music Center.


Ice skating at Pershing Square's Downtown on Ice.


More ice skating at Downtown on Ice.


Biltmore lobby Christmas tree.


Blogger Kid (newly 6!) and Blogger Baby 2.0 stroll down the Biltmore's main corridor.


Gingerbread houses at the Biltmore.


Staircase at the Biltmore.

Meet Cardinal Mahony's Replacement

(Photo: Eric Gay/AP)

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Los Angeles archdiocese leader Cardinal Roger M. Mahony's potential replacement, the L.A. Times reports:

The pontiff appointed Jose Gomez as co-adjutor archbishop of Los Angeles, an assisting position that essentially puts him first in line to succeed Mahony, who reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops in February.

Gomez is archbishop of San Antonio, a post he took up five years ago, during the last few months of John Paul II's papacy. Gomez, 58, is also a member of Opus Dei, the controversial order favored by John Paul II for its conservative teachings.

The selection of Gomez was apparently a nod to the demographics of Los Angeles, where Latinos form a large part of the overall population and especially of the region's Roman Catholics. Gomez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and speaks fluent Spanish.

There's obviously huge symbolism to naming a Latino bishop to the Los Angeles post.

Bless Your Animals (Then Grace Yourself With A Margarita)

Prepping your dog or cat for sainthood? You might want to head down to Olvera Street on April 3 for the annual Blessing of the Animals.

The annual event, which takes place from noon to 5 p.m., features a procession on Olvera Street at 2 p.m., with the blessing -- done by Cardinal Roger Mahony -- immediately after.

Organizers promise live music, animal-oriented information booths, as well as "an exciting charro equestrian show, pony rides for children and a petting zoo complete with llamas, sheep, cows and other animals."

I got excited for a second -- a Churro show? Sounds delicious. Oh -- a charro equestrian show. I have no idea what that is, but I'm guessing it doesn't involve a woman playing guitar and screaming "coochie coochie" on the "Love Boat."

More info:

The centuries-old ceremony of Blessing of the Animals dates back to the fourth century when San Antonio de Abad was recognized as the Patron Saint of the Animal Kingdom. In those days, the people would take their animals to the priest to receive a blessing and ask for fertility and health. Today, Blessing of the Animals is held in grateful recognition of the tremendous services given to the human race by the animal kingdom.

This colorful celebration has delighted visitors to Olvera Street for generations. Over the years many animals have been blessed - from cats and dogs to more exotic pets such as snakes and iguanas. A cow covered with a blanket of flowers will lead the elaborate afternoon procession down Olvera Street because it is the animal which provides the most to humanity. After the procession, His Eminence Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will individually bless all pets; however, you do not need a pet to enjoy this beautiful, time-honored event.

We don't have pets -- but c'mon, Blogger Kid and Blogger Baby 2.0 are close enough.

Angelenos of the Week: David Beckham and Roger Cardinal Mahony

Kind of an odd pairing... But since we didn't get a chance to do an Angeleno of the Week last week, we're double dipping.

And maybe the pairing isn't so odd. Both had rough yet ultimately victorious weeks.

Cardinal Mahony pulled off a $660 million settlement with victims who were abused by priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The settlement didn't silence critics -- quite the opposite, Yet, the L.A. Times' Opinion piece refered to Mahony this Sunday as "The Teflon Cardinal," noting that Mahony's relationship with the Latino community -- which now makes up a large percentage of L.A. Roman Catholics -- will help him survive this scandal, unlike Boston's Bernard Cardinal Law.

Meanwhile, it wasn't looking good for Beckham this week. An injury threatened to keep up from playing Saturday night in what was to be his L.A. Galaxy debut. But after all that hype, how could he not? So near the end of the game, Beckham leapt on the field and played for 12 minutes. Yup, kick around the ball a few times, make the crowd happy. All pretty staged and inconsequential. Yet, as the L.A. Times' Bill Plaschke writes, the people (including him) ate it up anyway. And so the Beckham hype continues...