St. Mary's Holiday Special

​By: Helen Hudson

St. Mary’s, per tradition, is a very merry place this holiday season. Read all about the festive decorations, events, and traditions this winter at St. Mary's. 

      St. Mary’s, per tradition, is a very merry place this holiday season. The Windland Smith Rice building has been decorated with a dazzling Christmas tree that towers in the center of the spiral staircase. Paper snowflakes and fake snow are hanging in the upper school hallway, and classroom doors are decked out in festive wrapping paper.
       Lelia Jones, president of the senior class, says, “My favorite holiday tradition is probably the Light a Candle for Life chapel. It’s always fun to watch because it’s interesting to see what the seniors can come up with and what they will include in their song and the whole chapel in general. It was fun on Friday because we got to hear something from the Quran and a Jewish story as well as a Bible verse.”
    This year, the Light a Candle for Life Chapel showcased satirical “Dear Santa” notes written and read by seniors, pretending to be teachers, the iconic “12 Days of Christmas” parody, and the traditional lighting of the candles in effort to symbolize passing on love. To represent the variety of faith traditions celebrated by the senior class, seniors read a Jewish prayer in Hebrew, and Arabic prayer, and a Bible verse.
      The celebration will continue Thursday, as the Middle and Upper school will celebrate the Christmas Pageant in chapel. During this memorable tradition, the 2nd and 3rd graders sing Christmas hymns while the seniors are in a tableau displaying famous manger scenes.
    To top the holiday season off, the Choir, the Chamber Choir, and the Wind Ensemble will hold their annual Holiday concert at 7:30 in the Rose Theater. Last Friday during O-Period they previewed a few of the songs they will perform, but be sure to attend their full concert and enjoy all the festivities at St. Mary’s during the Holiday Season!