The Moraga Youth Involvement Committee hosted its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Moraga Commons Park.

Each year, the central redwood tree next to the front parking lot of the Commons is illuminated with colorful lights on winter nights. At the lighting event, community members gather with their families to drink hot chocolate, eat cookies, and take pictures with Santa Clause.

The main attraction was Santa.

The children waited patiently in the rain for him to show, and when he did, they were delighted.

The Rossmoor Community Choir entertained the guests until the 7 p.m. when the tree was lit. After the celebratory lighting, Santa took a seat in front of the tree and took pictures with the children.

Unfortunately, the weather appeared to impact the event, as fewer people attended relative to past turnouts.

Shelter from the rain was provided by two large tents and additional umbrellas. According Senior Chair of the Moraga Youth Involvement Zachary Taylor, in prior years, when bad weather has a determent, very few people attended.  He was actually surprised by this year’s numbers.

The committee itself did not put up the lights. “We run the event and set up the tents,” Taylor said. The town hires the company Holiday Light to put the lights on the tree. The committee prepares for the event at the Hacienda De Las Flores by baking cookies and packaging them, as well as gathering other materials for the event.

The rain and cold put a slight damper on the festivity of the Tree Lighting, but, Santa Clause’s showing ended up saving the day, bringing plenty of Christmas cheer to the chilly people at Moraga Commons on Friday night.