L.A. Marks Quake With Diverse Rites : Anniversary: Dozens of events, both solemn and humorous, will be held Tuesday.

This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to God throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. -- Exodus 12:14

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At precisely 4:31 a.m. on Jan. 17, a candlelight procession will reach the site of the now-razed Northridge Meadows apartment building, where 16 people died as the earth lurched in seismic fury one year earlier. They will pray for the dead and for themselves; they will end the morning singing.

Across Los Angeles, whether animated by flashlights in pre-dawn hours, or meeting in the light of day, residents will mark the one-year anniversary of the Northridge earthquake with dozens of commemorative events, from humorous quake-themed parties to solemn religious services, from political glad-handing events to community award ceremonies.

David Della Rocco is hosting a party at the Reseda bar where he works--revelers will dance to battery-operated tape decks beneath parking lot canopies, props symbolizing the lack of power and the emergence of tent cities after the quake. Debbie Newman of Panorama City is throwing a “come as you were” party with “Shake ‘n Bake” chicken as the menu topper.

There’s a reason that we feel compelled to hold these commemorative events. By remembering the quake, theologians and social scientists say, we are participating in traditions as old as humanity itself. Something in our makeup responds year after year to the anniversaries of significant events. It’s why we make pilgrimages, give gifts, hold parties.

We remember. We mark passage. And so we heal.

“These events reassure everybody that we’re going to make it,” said Anson Shupe, who specializes in sociology and religion at Indiana/Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Ind.

“It’s human to construct these commemoratives,” Shupe said. “It seems to be part of every culture that we know about. The great events and the disasters both get made immortal.”

The commemorations are classic examples of rites of passage, said Mari Womack, an anthropologist who teaches at UCLA and Cal State Northridge.

“These first-year anniversaries are rites of re-integration, and what they do is put an end to that feeling of uncertainty and uneasiness that we’ve passed through for the last year,” she said. “What they’re doing with these parties and things like that is saying, ‘OK, that’s all over now. We’re going on with it.’ ”

Some remembrances, such as the candlelight march to Northridge Meadows, will be somber.

“A lot of people did lose their lives, a lot of families were disrupted and had to go through changes,” said the Rev. Allyn Axelton, president of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council, which is sponsoring the procession. “We felt this was a good time to reconnect, for people to look at what their lives mean to them.”

The Interfaith Council service, with its use of candles to symbolize the light of faith and a pilgrimage to a place where the dead are to be honored, is the type of ritual used by many communities, said Jim Spickard, a sociologist who specializes in religion at the University of Redlands.

“Expect a lot of tears,” Spickard said. “Where people in the moment of shock could not let it out before, now there will be tears for themselves and for others.”

Rituals for revisiting grief one year after a loss are common in many religions. In Jewish tradition, for example, it is customary to return to the site of a loved one’s grave one year after the death.

“The idea is that the official period of mourning is over,” said Rabbi Carole Meyers of Temple Sinai in Glendale. “There may be people who are not ready to end their grieving at end of a year. The ceremony is sort of a gentle push out.”

Indeed, marking the anniversary of a significant or traumatic event is so fully a part of human nature that psychologists even have a name for an extreme version of it: anniversary reaction. When a person suffers from this, he or she experiences depression or other emotional responses at the same time of year that the trauma occurred.

The idea behind a healthy revisiting of a traumatic experience is to allow the mourner and the community to process grief and shock and move on, said Michael Doyle, a clinical psychologist and the director of counseling services at Loyola-Marymount University.

“We demarcate our lives through calendars and schedules and times,” he said. “Our whole lives are structured around years. We have birthdays and holidays and anniversaries.”

The commemorations need not be serious to be helpful.

“Come celebrate the trauma!” reads the invitation to a party being thrown by Craig Tennis, a partner in Residuals, a Studio City bar. His Tuesday night party will feature bartenders in hard hats and drinks served in plastic cups without ice.

Tennis plans to play tape recordings of the early hours of quake news coverage by radio stations KFWB and KNX and television station KNBC. He’s had a sound engineer who frequents the bar put together a compact disc simulating the sounds of a 6.7 quake and its aftershocks, complete with screams and breaking glass.

“We decided the only way to go was upbeat after a year,” Tennis said.

Politicians have seized on the anniversary as a way to promote their interest in the community: President Clinton will tour Cal State Northridge. Mayor Riordan will have breakfast at Art’s Delicatessen & Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard, which was badly damaged during the quake and only recently reopened. A host of government officials are scheduled to participate in a three-day conference on the quake at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City.

Awards ceremonies, such as one planned by the Valley Economic Development Center to honor businesses that rebuilt after the quake, provide a way to look forward.

According to Spickard of the University of Redlands, people who suffered personal losses are more likely to choose a serious remembrance over a wild night. But parties, particularly ones with humorous tones, are a way of laughing in the face of death, a concept that also has roots in many cultures, such as the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.

The idea, said Mariann Hybels-Steer, a clinical psychologist who studied trauma and treated quake victims, is to allow people to safely revisit a difficult experience. If we can again come face to face with 4:31 a.m., Jan. 17, and this time come through unscathed, we have in a sense “mastered” the quake, she said.

“I can’t imagine there’s one person in the city who has not thought, ‘It’s going to happen again on the anniversary,’ ” Hybels-Steer said. “It’s very common with trauma victims to (wonder) if it’s going to happen again in the same place at the same time, and wish to master it.”

For bartender Della Rocco, who is organizing the Reseda party, the feelings cut even deeper. The first day of January, he said, felt like nothing. Certainly not like a new beginning or a new year.

The new year for Della Rocco won’t come until Jan. 17 passes without incident.

“The things I would have started New Year’s Day I’m going to start Jan. 17,” he said. “That’s my New Year. “

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Quake Anniversary Events

* An earthquake anniversary community gathering is planned from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday at Northridge United Methodist Church, 9650 Reseda Blvd. Those who attend should bring a flashlight for a brief ceremony at 8:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by Community Assisting Recovery (CARe). Information: (818) 363-3062.

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“Northridge--One Year Later” is a three-day conference beginning Monday that is jointly sponsored by state and federal emergency response agencies. The sessions will focus on lessons learned from the earthquake and future seismic risks in the region. Speakers include FEMA Director James Lee Witt, Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, and Richard Andrews, director of the state Office of Emergency Services. In addition to workshops, the conference held at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City will include three tours of quake-affected areas. (916) 278-6633.

* An interfaith service honoring those who died and those who helped save the lives of others will begin at 4:15 a.m. Tuesday at Northridge United Methodist Church, 9650 Reseda Blvd. The service will include a candlelight procession across the street to the former site of the Northridge Meadows apartments, where 16 people died. Following a moment of silence at 4:31 a.m., the procession will return to the church for Scripture reading, music and prayers. The San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council is sponsoring the service in cooperation with Project Rebound, a disaster recovery program operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Information: (818) 718-6460.

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* The Valley Economic Development Center will present awards to San Fernando Valley businesses and individuals who have been successful in their earthquake rebuilding efforts, from 8 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12825 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. A town hall meeting will follow the ceremonies, with Valley elected officials and business and community leaders discussing the effect of the earthquake. Cost is $10 per person. Reservations: (818) 989-4377.

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* Free individual and group counseling sessions will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center’s Institute for Living building, 18300 Roscoe Blvd. Participants should enter on Etiwanda Avenue. Spanish-language counselors will also be available. Appointments: (818) 885-5348.

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* A “Celebration of Earthquake Survival: An Opportunity for Healing and Closure” for senior citizens will be offered at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Joslyn Adult Center, 1301 W. Olive Ave., Burbank. Information: (818) 953-9594.

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* Granada Hills Community Hospital will host a “Day of Thanks” honoring the hospital’s personnel, medical staff and community with tours from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the facility located at 10445 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills. Breakfast, priced at $1.17, will be served beginning at 6:30 a.m. Information: (818) 360-1021.

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* The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center will host a “Come As You Were” earthquake anniversary party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at 22900 Market St., Newhall. Information: (805) 259-9444.

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* The San Fernando Valley Partnership Against Substance Abuse will host a tour of earthquake-damaged areas including the former site of the Northridge Meadows apartments and Cal State Northridge, beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday. A noon lunch will follow at San Fernando Gardens, 10896 Lehigh Ave., Pacoima. Dr. Nelba Chavez, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is scheduled to participate. Information: (818) 837-7767.

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* A special prayer of thanksgiving will be recited by residents of the Jewish Home for the Aging and community members at 4:31 p.m. Tuesday at the Eisenberg Village campus, 18855 Victory Blvd., Reseda. Information: (818) 774-3000.

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* A Mass celebrating life and an awards presentation will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 7800 Vineland Ave., Sun Valley. Information: (818) 765-3350.

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* An earthquake survival celebration is planned from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12825 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. The event is sponsored by Project Rebound. Information: (818) 756-3016.

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* Danube Avenue Elementary School will host an earthquake fair from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at 11200 Danube Ave., Granada Hills. Events will include workshops, a puppet show and pizza sale. Information: (818) 366-6463.

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* The public is asked to drop by Friends of the Family, a nonprofit family counseling agency, to put their handprints on a mural titled “Hand in Hand” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at 14522 Kittridge St., Van Nuys. Information: (818) 988-4430.

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* The Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley will host “True Heroes of the Community,” to honor earthquake survivors from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at 11251 Glenoaks Blvd, Pacoima. Information: (818) 896-5261.

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Project Rebound, through the Santa Clarita Child & Family Development Center, is sponsoring a Jan. 17 earthquake commemoration, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley, 24909 Newhall Ave., Newhall. (805) 255-6847 days; (805) 251-1172 evenings.

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Santa Clarita is hosting a Pan “Quake” Breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22 at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd., Valencia. It will be held in the parking-lot tents where the city ran its emergency operations center after the earthquake. (805) 286-4077.

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Project Rebound, Northeast San Fernando Valley Region, will hold a Northridge Earthquake Recovery Anniversary Event on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley, 11251 Glenoaks Blvd., Pacoima. The event is scheduled to include Councilman Richard Alarcon and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, along with food, music and confidential counseling. (818) 361-0511.