Happy Holidays everyone! Today could be considered the best day of the year for Elon students, staff, faculty and community members. Why? Read Bethany Ely’s account of one of the Elon’s greatest traditions to find out more…
One of my favorite parts of my college experience was taking part in all of Elon’s traditions. These traditions made campus feel like home to me, especially since my own family has plenty of traditions – especially around the holidays. One of my absolute favorite events at Elon is the lighting of the luminaries.
Every year, Elon holds the “Festival of Holiday Lights” around the first of December. Students, faculty, and community members come together on one night to drink hot chocolate and cider and listen to carolers sing holiday songs. A menorah is lit in celebration of Hannakuh and over 50,000 lights are hung for the holiday celebration. Everyone cheers when all of the lights are turned on for the first time during the celebration and the mood on campus is so lighthearted and joyful. Luminaries are also lit and line the pathways throughout campus, which is one of my favorite parts of the festival. All of the lights around campus make Elon more beautiful than it already is (which I never thought was possible!) and I love how festive campus feels with all of the decorations. The luminaries, hot chocolate, and cheerful atmosphere all remind me of home and spending the holidays with my family. We always went all out in my house with Christmas decorations, so it’s great to look around campus and see tons of twinkling lights in the trees, candles everywhere, and ornaments in the trees on campus and feel as though I’m at home with my own family. The night is also such a nice break from the stress of the end of the semester and always gave me the opportunity to spend time with my friends and relax for a night before the chaos of finals.
Lucky for me, I’ll still be able to participate in one of my favorite traditions. This time, as a staff member!
-Bethany Ely ’12
Admissions Counselor for Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia
Bethany took this picture last year when she was still a student. There will more pictures to come from tonight’s celebration!