Tree Lighting Festivities kick off the holiday season

BY BROOKLYN MCKINNEY / Multimedia Journalist

The Christmas season is upon us, which means that as college students, we get to take a much-needed break from the stress of exams and finding parking on campus to join our friends and family in the holiday atmosphere of joy and love.
 

But who says Tarleton can’t recreate that feeling on campus while everyone is waiting? I think Dr. Hurley said it best at Tarleton’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting on November 2nd, at the Trogdon Lawn.
 

“I just wanted to remind everybody how important it is to remain committed to family, friends and remembering what the holiday season is really about, and in the end, it’s about those we love,” he said. “So we’re thankful you chose to be here today, and we’re going to have a great night.”
 

Dr. Hurley also offered some words of encouragement for students, as they’re “nearing the final stretch” of the semester.
 

After Dr. Hurley joined his family onstage to speak, everyone gathered to watch them light the tree. The festivities went on from 6 to 8 p.m., with plenty of photo opportunities as well as a chance to write a letter to Santa, grab hot cocoa and some snacks or even to grab a free sweater and get a Grassburr for those who were feeling nostalgic.
 

Hailey Kimmerle, a sophomore kinesiology major and a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority on campus reminisced on last year’s memories with her friends.
 

“One of my favorite memories from last year was when they had the big blowup snowglobe and me and all of my friends fit into it and the thing almost came down, but it was pretty funny.”
 

Carols with a side of Christmas cheer echoed across campus, and Tarleton’s choir even had a stunning acapella performance of “Mary Did You Know?”.  
 

Long lines of students eagerly waited in anticipation for at least 30 minutes before the event.
 

Freshman Thomas Bennington expressed his excitement for the Christmas Tree Lighting while waiting to get in.
 

“I’m kind of just excited about the atmosphere, you know? You come to one of these things and see all the fun stuff they got planned.”
 

His cousin, freshman Caitlyn Hardy, was the most excited about getting a free cozy sweatshirt while sophomore Emma Parker couldn’t wait to write her letter to Santa.
 

“I haven’t done it since I was a little kid,” Parker said.
 

Whether your favorite thing about the annual Christmas Tree Lighting is the hot cocoa, free sweater, or telling Santa what you wanted for Christmas, I think we can all agree that this is a tradition that never fails to bring our Tarleton family together.
 

Good luck during finals week, Texans.