A beloved hillside Christmas display has returned for the 74th year in El Cerrito, welcoming families in an annual tradition and serving as an enduring testament to the vision of its creator – and the holiday spirit.
The display, a broad nativity scene on Moeser Lane, began in 1949 when a Sikh immigrant named Sundar Shadi hung a humble star outside of his home during the Christmas season. In the following years, he added Wise Men constructed from plywood, then eventually animals made of chicken wire and plaster.
Raised in Moslem-Sikh schools in Punjab, India, Shadi’s inspiration for the Christmas display was his relationship with his Christian neighbors. In 1934, his “mixed marriage” with his wife Dortothy Cotelle Clark was prohibited by the state of California. But regardless of the law, the community in El Cerrito welcomed him, and in turn he wanted to construct a community treasure. The Sundar Shadi Holiday display has become just that.
Part work of art, part elaborate holiday decoration, the display eventually grew to include more than 500 pieces. Neighbors and friends would come to see it grow year after year. Even now, more than 20 years after Mr. Shadi passed away, the display draws hundreds of visitors every year.
Today, the Sundar Shadi Holiday display is home to dozens of sheep and shepherds, Wise Men on Camels, and a “Town of Bethlehem” made of milk crates and minarets. Many of the materials are repurposed or recycled.
Still, the preservation of Shadi’s work was not guaranteed. After his death in 2002, former El Cerrito Mayors Rich and Jane Bartke worked with a local nonprofit to purchase and store the collection. Every year during the holiday season, a group of volunteers unearths the sheep and Wise Men and arranges them on a hill in El Cerrito, overlooking the Bay and San Francisco skyline.
Lights and music adorn the scene every night from 5 to 10 p.m. through December 26. The display can be found at Moeser Lane at Seaview in El Cerrito, north of Berkeley.
Source: www.mercurynews.com