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San Fer­nan­do May­or Robert Par­ris called on cit­i­zens not to for­get un­em­ployed res­i­dents as the city marked the start of the Christ­mas sea­son with the light­ing of a 46-foot tree fit­ted with 30,000 LED lights on Wednes­day night.

Speak­ing just be­fore ac­ti­vat­ing the switch, Par­ris said the cel­e­bra­tion should in­clude sup­port for those with­out in­come, and he an­nounced that City Hall will serve meals to un­em­ployed per­sons on Christ­mas Day.

Par­ris told the crowd that he in­tends to spend Christ­mas Day at City Hall, rather than at home with his fam­i­ly, where he and vol­un­teers will pre­pare and dis­trib­ute food. He in­vit­ed mem­bers of the pub­lic to as­sist, say­ing the sea­son re­quires at­ten­tion to peo­ple in need and to the hol­i­day's pur­pose.