Video: Tree Lighting Sparks Start of Holiday Season

For the 8th year, when the carolling concludes and the lights have dimmed, the City of South Pasadena's Christmas tree will not find itself kicked to the curb or heaped into the compost pile.

Officials have identified some 2,000 spots all across the city that could use a little foiliage, so the same tree lit by Santa Thursday night and adorned with children's handmade cards will eventually provide another shady spot in town.  

"The city is the City of Trees and we love living trees and rather than just chop one down and throw it away, we thought let's find one of those spaces where a tree used to be,'' said Scott Feldman, president of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. The chamber donated the tree to the city. Trees are also planted in resident-suggested places where folks would like to see more greenery. 

On Thursday, as the rain faded away, a crowd gathered on the lawn of the South Pasadena Historical Museum to watch the lighting of the city's Christmas tree. Absent was Mayor Michael Cacciotti, due to a traffic jam in Los Angeles, but the cheering children appluding Santa didn't seem to mind. 

Follow South Pasadena Patch on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for our Newsletter.