Merry Christmas from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions!
’Tis the season to deck the residence halls—but that’s just one ND holiday tradition. Before heading home for the semester break, students took part in all manner of Christmas festivities. They included the celebration of Las Posadas, the annual Morrissey Hall Candlelight Mass, and Advent Lessons and Carols at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. (View a slideshow here.) From nativity displays to ugly Christmas sweaters, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite campus holiday traditions.
My friends and I look forward to Carroll Christmas all year. I’ve become a bit infamous around Lyons Hall for my ridiculous supply of Christmas sweaters, so the days leading up to the event friends come through and comb my closet for the best ones. We go all out with Christmas spirit, from Santa hats to festive socks and jingle bell earrings. It’s one of those things where you can be so unapologetically dorky and it’s not just accepted but encouraged. Another part of what makes Carroll Christmas so special for us is that it’s at the end of the semester, right before we have to start studying for finals. We see it as a “last hurrah” before we focus on exams, a time to just have some fun before the tests hit." –Mary Kate Healey ’17, design major
My favorite part of the holidays at ND are the little nativity sets from different countries that are spread all over on campus! –Hugo Muñoz Ríos ’17, economics major
My favorite holiday tradition that I started with my friends my freshman year was when we decided to do an unofficial secret Santa. We all gathered together in the Dillon 24-hour lounge and drew names out of a hat. We then spent the month of December trying to find out from our friends what our secret person wanted for Christmas. It was really fun to get together before finals and exchange gifts and see what we all had gotten each other. Some of the gifts were really sweet and meaningful and it truly made me value the friendships I made that semester. –Ariel Navotas ’17, mathematics major
I really like decking out our hallways in Christmas lights. We make a competition out of it and get fat off of eggnog and cookies. –Gabe Tauro ’19, science-business major
My favorite part about celebrating the holidays on campus is the decorations, especially the ones in my dorm. Every year we do a section decorating competition and I love seeing how all the sections get into the spirit with lights and snowflakes and tinsel! It's so much fun. Also, Cavanaugh puts on a Christmas pageant every year for some of the kids from local parishes and participating in that is also so special as they enjoy watching us dress up and act out the Christmas story. –Kacey Nichole Hengesbach ’18, marketing and design double major