I continue to think about what moves us from being a city to a community (See  original post here.) As the holiday season is in full swing, one of Fresno’s greatest traditions is once again available for all of us to enjoy.  Fresno’s Christmas Tree Lane has delighted young and old alike for nearly 90 years.

Growing up, Christmas Tree Lane was a constant element of my holiday season.  Now that I have two children of my own, my wife Erin and I have continued the tradition.   In terms of holiday entertainment, Christmas Tree Lane is tough to beat and is something Fresno should appreciate.

Christmas Tree Lane is just one example of the many traditions that the good people of Fresno  enjoy on a yearly basis.  Shared traditions are an important component to building a strong community.   Fresno is fortunate to have several traditions that are important to who we are.  Many of our traditions are passed down from generation to generation just like Christmas Tree Lane.  They become an important part of our shared practices and if you look at them close enough, they typically give hints to our values and ideals.

These traditions live on in our city in part because we feel they give us options on how to fill our time.  But much  more importantly than that, our traditions love on because they have formed us, brought us together, instilled pride and have contributed to our community.  Although our Fresno traditions are often taken for granted, (typical for us locals) a sense of pride remains about them.  They are important to us.

We have so many traditions that build our sense of community and there is no way that I could name them all.  Equally, there is no way to rank them.  A few of the traditions that immediately come to mind for me include: Fresno State Athletics, The Big Fresno Fair, Civil War Revisited at Kearney Park, Christmas Tree Lane or Huntington Blvd. during the holidays, The Rogue Festival, even Rotary Storyland & Playland in the last 55 years have become a Fresno tradition.  By no means is this an exhaustive list but just a peppering of some of the things that make Fresno a better place to live.  Each of our traditions add to our quality of life  and help us to move past just being a city and to becoming a community.

We complain a lot about Fresno.  Yes we have significant challenges and yes we are constantly struggling with issues related to our image but we have so traditions here that enrich our lives and we should be proud of them .  I know that living in Fresno and embodying many of Fresno’s traditions have shaped me in a positive way and more times than not I am guilty of taking those things for granted.

What are your favorite Fresno traditions and what do they mean to you?  Why do they remain traditions in your life?