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Holiday festivities fairly new The city of Medford had a Christmas parade Tuesday with Santa being pulled into town on a sleigh pulled by live reindeer. This was in conjunction with the holiday tree-lighting ceremony. What can you tell me about the history of Medford's Christmas celebrations? Have there been Christmas parades before? When was Medford's first Christmas celebration? -- Scott H., Medford The record on Medford's Yuletide celebrations is spotty, Scott, to say the least. People who have worked for the city since the early 1970s don't recall any city-sponsored Christmas celebrations prior to the annual tree-lighting ceremonies that began in Alba Park in 1990. The tree-lighting custom began when a newly arrived radio personality named Bob White discovered Medford had no Christmas celebration. White sparked city officials to organize a Christmas tree-lighting in Alba Park. The tree-lighting was moved to Vogel Park in 1997. White is better known today as Neal Donald Walsch, whose "Conversations with God" books have sold millions of copies. As for earlier holiday celebrations, we asked the ace researchers at the Southern Oregon Historical Society to see what they could find. Carol Harbison-Samuelson found newspaper clippings about an annual "Swedish Yule feast" that was popular among Medford's Scandinavian community during the 1910s. The revelers sang Scandinavian songs and played traditional games on New Year's Eve. Earlier newspaper accounts speak of "holiday concerts" in conjunction with the New Year holiday as early as 1898. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA