Santa Will Be Missing in MIssion Viejo

Well, maybe not missing, but definitely hard to find (from the MV Dispatch):

Santa’s Workshop will be moving this year after being located for more than two decades at the corner of LaPaz and Chrisanta (’four corners’). The Mission Viejo Activities group sought administrative permission to erect the workshop next to City Hall near the Saddleback Room.

The four corners has a storied history as being the symbolic center for the holiday period. Santa has traditionally made his grand arrival at the intersection. Thousands of MV children will forever recall the location where they whispered their wishes to Santa. Many will also recall the hot chocolate sipped on the Chrisanta sidewalk during the chilly evenings as they awaited their turn with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Mission Viejo is one of the few cities which overcame legal obstacles in order to continue permitting religious displays together with secular displays. The displays are assigned positions on the High School corner and the Taco Bell corner according to a lottery drawing each year. The same organizations as in recent years will construct their displays in the next few days. The groups include the South Coast Christian Assembly, Congregation Eilat, Chabad of Mission Viejo, OC Islamic Foundation, and the Spiritual Assembly of Bahai.

Many drivers and their passengers will miss the view of the workshop, because at the Civic Center the Clauses will no longer be visible without parking and walking to the north end of City Hall. Undoubtedly that will leave a hole in the holiday spirit of those who enjoy a frequent drive-by view of the workshop during the Christmas season. It also seems likely that, despite publicity, many traditional visitors to the workshop will wonder what happened to Santa when they arrive at the intersection.

The legal basis for allowing the religious displays included consideration of the existence of the secular use of four corners for Santa’s workshop. It seems the religious presenters would have an argument that equal treatment of secular and non-secular displays should include the opportunity for religious displays to also relocate to Civic Center. From a practical perspective, that may not occur this year because the groups don’t want to sacrifice the much higher attention available at the four corners.

The whole matter of the four corners’ holiday displays was resolved with Council action several years ago. This time the relocation of Santa has been quietly planned and approved with an administrative decision. A public announcement was evidently not planned until after tomorrow, the target date for religious displays to be in place.

I've got to tell you, I'm really disappointed to read this. This will be the 19th Christmas that I've lived near the intersection of La Paz and Chrisanta and we've always enjoyed seeing Santa's Workshop go up and the lines of kids and their families when Santa's taking visitors. I think the Activities Committee screwed this one up.


Our family has a bit of history at that intersection. Besides being right down the street from Mission Viejo High School, in 1992 we took our then 4-year old and 17-month old over to Santa's Workshop when nobody was there and took our annual Christmas picture:
She's now 20 and he's 17.

In 2005 I did a post on the Christmas decorations at the corner, including a shot of Santa's Workshop with my then 17-year old spokesmodel daughter :
Thousands of commuters drive by this intersection every day, and I don't think they're going to be happy. Let me be among the first to complain. It just won't be the same.