25th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting

By Maggie Buckley, Editor-in-Chief

Though the air was cold, morale was high on the Hagan lawn at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 30th.

“I’m so excited! It’s the 25th annual tree lighting. What could be better than that?” said Madi Doyle, a senior at Assumption. “I have some hot coco, I have some friends. That’s all I could ask for!”

As students waited for the night’s festivities to begin, Sodexo and Campus Recreation banded together to keep students warm and keep their appetites at bay.

The Sodexo table provided hot chocolate and sugar cookies decorated with a Christmas tree on top of a 25 to commemorate this year’s event, while Campus Recreation supplied students with s’mores fixings and fire pits.

Oswaldo Pimentel, a junior, was noticeably underdressed, sporting a denim jacket, so he was very glad there were multiple heat sources to huddle around.

“It’s great being with friends,” he said. “It’s really cold, but I’m glad to have fires and hot coco.”

The 25th Annual Tree Lighting was soon underway, with speakers Brendon Padula and Maria LeDoux representing the Student Government Association and Deacon Paul Covino leading prayer.

President Cesareo also took the time to speak to students and wish them a “very Merry Christmas and a joyous, Happy New Year.”

The energy in the crowd continued to grow as the time to light the tree neared.

“I’m feeling great,” said Kyle Sorgi, a senior delighted to be in attendance. “I think this togetherness with Assumption is very long overdue because of COVID. I’m extremely happy and excited to be here and I can’t wait to see the tree up in lights!”

Just moments later, the huge crowd of students began the countdown to the moment they had all been waiting for.

In an instant, the tall, dark tree had been lit up in beautiful colors, signaling the beginning of the Christmas season.
This magical event, however, is only the first of twelve as Assumption University kicked off its “12 Days of Christmas.”

Some of the upcoming events include Winterfest, a Gingerbread House Contest, concerts, and the highly anticipated midnight breakfast.

Below is the schedule as provided by the Office of Student Activities to make sure you don’t miss out on any of this year’s festivities.