Winter Festivities at Loyola

Loyola loves a good celebration. And we also love winter!

So that’s why, every year, we set up a big ol’ holiday tree in the middle of our Damen student center. Yes, we are a religious school in name, so it’s called a Christmas tree and it gets blessed, but it’s mostly there for the pictures students trip over themselves to take pictures in front of.

Along with the holiday tree comes a great celebration when the lighting goes on and the string lights across it go on (you know, for the pictures.) That’s today! It’s a fun, free, public event that always clogs up walking traffic a little, on account of the crowd it gets.

I mean, Loyola rolls out a chocolate fountain for it. Who wouldn’t stop by, just for a bit? Santa Claus also makes an appearance and sits on a chair in front of it (you know, for the pics) but he’s not there all the time, just at the Tree-Lighting Event. After it’s over, you know students will be all over posing in that thing!

This Tree-Lighting also marks the start of when the Damen Student Center can start playing holiday music for all hours of the day. Just kidding, it doesn’t play music all the time, just… most of the time. If you walk through there at eleven o’clock in the evening after a theater performance or an organization potluck, there will probably be students there, concentrating really hard but not hearing anything. Later than that, and it would be just spooky to hear, I think!

What has got to be my most favorite aspect of the holidays at Loyola (besides the cute garland decorations everywhere, even in the gym) is the fact that we remove approximately half of our tables and put in… an indoor skate rink! I got a picture of it empty, before people start flooding onto it, so you can see how big it is. It’s free skating, as opposed to the cute (but probably colder) skating you can do downtown right next to the Bean.

 

If you’re visiting Loyola during this wintry season, don’t worry – this charm is year-long! It’s just that without the lovely decorations of the natural world, Loyola adds the holiday touch, and it sure does make students smile. Trust me, I’m one of them!