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Christmas on the Hill!

Christmastime at Holy Cross is one of the best times to be a part of the campus community. From dorm halls holding door decorating contests to the chaplain’s office and school groups offering services for students who celebrate Hannukah and Kwanza, there is something to do for students from all sorts of different backgrounds.

As students engage in spreading Christmas cheer by decorating their dorm rooms the school puts on major events that the whole community takes part of. First, there is the annual Christmas tree lighting where students partake in Christma carols, hot cocoa, cookies, and pictures with Santa Clause during the celebration of lighting the campus Christmas tree in front of the historic O’Kane Hall! Then there is the “Festival of Lessons and Carols” where the whole community squeezes into Saint Joseph’s Chapel to sing Christmas songs deep into the night!

Despite the deep connection of Christianity to the celebration of Christmas, one does not have to be a practicing Christian to be part of the campus cheer during the season. Whether Jewish, Muslim, or non-practicing, the true essence of Christmastime at Holy Cross rests in everyone’s love and respect for each other. We come together as a community to celebrate every unique individual that makes Holy Cross such an amazing place for college.

Saint Joseph’s Chapel where the popular Festival of Lessons and Carols is held.
The clock tower of O’Kane hall sporting festive snow and icicles
The Nativity Scene set up before the entrance to the historic O’Kane Hall.
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Thanksgiving at the Cross!

It’s that time on campus! The brisk Worcester winter has settled on campus as we all crank up the heat in our dorm rooms and trade out the sweatshirts for our heavier winter jackets, hats, and gloves. Switching out or ice coffees and teas for hot coffee and chocolate from Cool Beans and Cafe Babel, the winter spirit really is flourishing on campus!

A staple of wintertime on the Hill is our annual Thanksgiving dinner at Kimball Dining Hall! This year’s meal included turkey (of course), mash potatoes, gravy, squash, cranberry sauce, rolls, salad, corn, apple cider, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream! As I had moot court practice later that night that our captain decided that we would all have a team Thanksgiving dinner before we headed off to practice our oral arguments.

Due to Kimball Thanksgiving Dinner being so popular, the moot court team arrived 15 minutes before dinner began to get to the front of the line. As we waited for dining services to put all the food out a line began to form behind us that looped all the way around the entire dining room! Filling our plates up with a variety of traditional Thanksgiving food we quickly hurried off to our 18 person table where we all feasted, stuffing ourselves with food till we could barely move.  Eating and laughing about funny moments between the team members, time quickly flew by, forcing us to hurry to our practice with pumpkin and apple pies with ice cream on our plates. Our coaches met us laughing, asking us why none of us brought a pie for themselves. Just as the Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated the friendship and community between the two peoples at the first Thanksgiving, the student body celebrates the friendship and community that permeates throughout the Holy Cross campus.

Kimball Dining Hall where the majority of campus gathers to eat meals.
A picture of the pumpkin pie Holy Cross students were treated to at Thanksgiving Dinner.
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It’s Christmastime on Campus!

It’s that time of year, Christmastime! Seemingly everyone, whether or not you are religious, has a soft spot in their heart for Christmas. Christmas brings with it activities that provide us with boundless limits of joy, and Christmas on campus is no different! While students themselves may kick off the Christmas spirit by decorating their doors and rooms in the residence halls, the Purple Key Society on campus sets the mood with their annual Christmas tree lighting outside of O’Kane Hall.

Being in attendance at the Christmas tree lighting myself, I can testify that it was truly something magical. Making the walk with a group of friends from Hanselman Hall to O’Kane in the brisk winter air set the mood for a fun-filled and festive night ahead. When we arrived at the celebration we were greeted with cookies and hot chocolate along with a very enthusiastic Santa that was trying to convince everyone to take pictures after the tree lighting. The event began with a multitude of performances from campus bands and singing groups that got everyone into the Christmas spirit with hits such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and Mariah Carey’s famous “All I want for Christmas” and culminated with the blessing and lighting of the campus Christmas tree!

 

Students gather for Christmas tree lighting.
Christmas tree lighting occurs at the end of the event.