Hawai'i's young recall Christmases past

By Esme Infante Nii
Advertiser Assistant Features Editor

LEFT to RIGHT: Brett Kakugawa, Berrie Lee

Yes, children dig those presents in a big way. But many of them also say that they savor them like treasures, and they remember them for years.

Many youngsters also find that family and close friends take on new importance during the holidays. And many youths take the spirit of giving, and the moral and spiritual messages of the season, very seriously.

These things come crystal clear when reading the scores of letters written by Hawai'i youths in response to The Advertiser's invitation to write in with their most cherished Christmas memory. Children through age 18 were encouraged to write in about virtually anything — a gift, a visit from a loved one, an adventure, a lesson learned.

Presents obviously help make the yule cool. Dozens of kids talked about their delight at receiving the desires of their hearts, whether they received a pricey video game console or a simple baseball. Of course, you had to excuse the occasional letter-writer who said "getting (fill in the blank)" was the most important thing that had ever happened in his or her life.

Other youngsters wrote in about the first time they saw snow, recalled holiday-decorating mishaps, and remembered small-kid attempts to see Santa that went awry. Several fondly remembered the last Christmas they spent with a now-departed family member or friend. No fewer than half a dozen youngsters named the Christmas they received a Bible, Book of Mormon or other religious keepsake as the most important.

Whatever the topic, it was evident that not all children plow through the holiday season like relentless vacuum cleaners sucking up toys. For even surprisingly young children, that mental video camera is firmly in the "on" position, and the impressions they take away from even their earliest Christmases remain strong years later.

Here are some of the more unusual tales sent in by our young readers.

Lauren Olomua, a seventh-grader at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, recalled how much she enjoyed a Christmas spent in California with her extended family, which included a Polynesian dinner and a late-night goofing around with her cousins.

"The next morning my auntie announced that one of us kids will have to give up two of our gifts for a poor family. Immediately I thought, 'Yes, I am for sure going to do this.' ... Then I gave her a watch and a nice Roxy T-shirt. I felt so good, and I thought how happy that family is going to be once they see the presents. I've always thought it was real good to give charity. Sometimes people don't realize that other people don't have as much as they do."

Berrie Lee, a Sacred Hearts Academy 10th-grader, remembered one Christmas as a little girl when she was determined to see Santa for herself. Sneaking out of her room when the lights were out, "I crawled to the kitchen and, to my surprise, I saw a large, dark figure eating the cookies and drinking the milk. I got so excited that I went to the light panel and turned on the lights. ... I found my dumbfounded, frightened father eating Santa's cookies. Instead of crying from finding out the truth about Santa, I laughed because of all the trouble that parents went through to fulfill a little girl's dream."

Caitlin Kuroda, a Kipapa Elementary 5th-grader, says the holidays make her think back to the special relationship she used to share with her grandmother. She would visit her grandmother every Saturday, helping feed her and rearranging pillows to keep her warm. During the last Christmas party Caitlin spent with her grandmother, when Caitlin was 6, she helped her grandmother eat while the family celebrated, "the warmth of love and happiness surrounding me."

Her grandmother has since "flown to heaven, her beautiful wings spread across the starry sky," Caitlin wrote. "Grandma will remain in my heart for all other Christmases."

Brett Kakugawa, also a 5th-grader at Kipapa, recalled a recent Christmas when, just at the moment he and his brother thought they were done with their presents, their father unexpectedly handed them long, skinny boxes that weren't wrapped with any special paper. "I opened my box and couldn't believe what I saw! It was an Omaha Gold baseball bat! ... I started to swing the bat in the house and my Dad had to calm me down. I told my dad, 'Thank you!' so many times." Brett had to teach his younger brother, who also received a bat, how to care for it. "With my new bat and a good swing, I almost hit a home run twice in a row," he wrote. "Thanks, Dad!"

Jessica Okamura, a 6th-grader at Iolani School, wrote that it was during a Christmas shopping excursion several years ago with her father when he told her a sad story: The reason Jessica's mother wore no wedding ring was that the diamond once fell out of her ring, and when they went to have the stone replaced, the store lost the band. Once Jessica heard the story, she tried to help her father shop for a new ring, but they couldn't find "the perfect one," and she felt sad.

But Jessica later decided she could make a ring with a plain band, some glue and a crystal. When her mother opened her gift, "a huge smile came on her face," Jessica recalled. "I told her that it was her replacement ring. She gave me a big hug and she thanked me as she put on her wedding ring. ... I was especially happy because I gave my mom a great Christmas gift."

Charley Feldman, a 7th-grader at Kahuku, said last year's Christmas decorating adventures were the most memorable. The family was getting out the decorations when they all "fell on me like an avalanche," Charley wrote. "Thank God nothing broke when it all fell down." Next, as they were wrestling the tree into the house, they realized the tree was infested with ants, so they had to lug it back out and treat it. Finally, once they got the tree up, Charley's cat climbed to the top, got its foot tangled in the lights and came crashing down to the floor. "The tree fell also, but the cat did not get hurt," Charley wrote.

Renita Rodriguez, a 12th-grader at Sacred Hearts Academy, recalled her first time volunteering last year with her school's Outreach Unity and Renewal Club to visit a shelter for homeless women and children. "Before the actual visit, I thought we were just going to bring the children treats and presents, distribute them and be on our merry little way. Boy, was I ever wrong!" she wrote.

She and her fellow students had to coax the frightened little boys and girls downstairs to enjoy some toys and sweets. Only after the children were convinced that the girls were "OK folks" did they sing some Christmas songs, play games and accept gifts, she said.

"To see each boy and girl smile, laugh and genuine enjoy our visit was the best gift I could have ever received," Renita wrote. "The parents watched their children have a Christmas, a Christmas they couldn't give their children. I could see in their eyes how grateful they were for our being there."