LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Christmas in Los Angeles County Saturday will include the customary Masses and church services celebrating the birth of Jesus and annual events providing meals to the homeless and poor.
An English-language Christmas Day Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 10 a.m. by the cathedral's pastor, Rev. David Gallardo. It will be streamed at facebook.com/olacathedral and youtube.com/olacathedral.
The Mass also will be broadcast on channels 703 and 1246 on Spectrum cable systems, channel 467 on Frontier systems, channel 1133 on Cox Cable systems, channel 520 on Mediacom systems and digital channel 7.2.
The organizers of the annual Christmas dinner at Hollywood United Methodist Church plan to serve more than 1,000 meals from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. All in attendance will receive personal care items while children will receive toys.
The Laugh Factory in Hollywood will host its 42nd annual free Christmas dinner and show with seatings starting at noon. The comedy club welcomes those who are away from home, as well as those who may be lonely, homeless or simply in need of a warm meal and a few laughs, owner Jamie Masada said.
Tiffany Haddish, Tim Allen, Dane Cook, Craig Robinson and Paul Rodriguez are among the comedians set to perform.
The club will follow all Los Angeles County Department of Public Health guidelines, Masada said, with proof of vaccination and wearing a mask required. The Laugh Factory will provide a mask to anyone who doesn't have one.
Participants who are unvaccinated will receive a Christmas meal to go and a certificate to get COVID-19 vaccinations at El Proyecto del Barrio Clinics in the Los Angeles area. The Laugh Factory will cover the cost of their transportation to the clinic.
Anyone redeeming their COVID-19 vaccination certificate at an El Proyecto clinic can bring their completed certificate and vaccination card to Laugh Factory Hollywood on or before Valentine's Day to receive a $50 cash reward for getting the shots.
To Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly Mitchell, the best way for county residents to celebrate Christmas "is to make a commitment to yourself, your family and your community that we're going to stay safe. We really hope people figure out ways to integrate into their traditional holiday celebrations ways in which to be mindful of each other and stay safe."
"Everybody has to remember the true reason for the season and it's to share peace across the land and to love one another. In order to do that in the middle of this pandemic we have to be mindful of not spreading it," Mitchell told City News Service.
Mitchell stressed the importance of "shortening our time together, making sure there's an air purifier in the room, making a commitment that we're going to stay masked, not gathering at one table but break it off into smaller tables based on family units" at Christmas gatherings to attempt to reduce the possibility of spreading the coronavirus.
When asked what Christmas means to her, Mitchell said, "it's about gathering, it's about remembering the reason for the season, it's about taking time to stop and tell people we care about them and having a sense of real community."
Mitchell said the winter holidays, which also include Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, are a time "to pause and give thought to what we are thankful for in our own lives and to spend time and connect with those who we love."