of Saint Mary’s College
Christmas at SMC
A By Elizabeth Denning
s all of us know, Victoria
magazine did a section on
Christmas at Saint Mary’s
College in their December issue
1991. Christmas has changed so
fhuch in the past 150 that viewing
old customs reveals some sur
prising facts. I was unable to find
any listing of Christmas traditions
before 1861. But that year
brought many interesting con
cepts. During the Christmas holi
days in 1861, students engaged
jn dancing and eclectic charades
in the parlor of Smedes. No guys
'''rere allowed, but no one expect
ed them to be. Everyone sat up
nntil midnight almost every night,
and on Christmas Eve eggnog
''vas served. Christmas dinner
'^as always looked forward to,
and one year the girls gave an
Oyster dinner for the teachers,
you may be asking why I am talk
ing about Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day. In this day and
lirne the women were not able to
9o home because of the difficulty
of traveling from one place to the
other. This was also during the
'^ar years, and it was dangerous
1o travel. There were many
planned activities held in Smedes
Parlor.
Christmas in 1876 was one to
^ remembered by all. During this
Christmas season, snow locked
®'l of the students in from the out
side world. A path was shoveled
|o the chapel so that the manda
tory chapel services would not be
• • .the girls gave an oyster
dinner for the teachers...
ssed. The chapel had been
oorated beautifully for the sea-
r\ — I .i_ 'i
'• and the annual Christmas
- Communion service contin-
1 as usual. After the service, a
dent dressed as Santa deliv-
gifts, and the students
d up until all hours of the
remembering past Christ-
> events. On Christmas Day,
ikfast was delayed until 9:00,
the late afternoon Christmas
'er was such a feast that the
» went crazy. The delaying of
curfew was a big deal at this
a rich tradition continues
time because everything was on
a strict schedule.
One thing about Saint Mary s
that has not changed over this
long period of time is the desire
for a party. Even in the early
1990s, women were always look-
ing for a reason to celebrate.
Christmas brought one ideal time
to do so. Although the biggest
party for many years was the
annual Halloween grand march,
followed by a full-fledged mas-
auerade ball, Christmas brought
\he biggest play, the elocution
recital the club parties, the big
party in the gymnasium where a
tall candlelit tree shimmered, the
carol sing, and the last ebap^^
service which closed with the
sfnging _,of “On Our Way
everyone went home
before Christmas started. No, it
was not an early present but a flu
One thing about Saint
Mary’s that has not
changed is the desire
for a party...
«;care In 1929 Christmas tradi-
lions had not chahoe'l
earlier Christmases. There was
the “royal feast” and the carol
singing in the candlelit dimng
room ^the Nativity play, the
S'mas tree in the gym, and
the choral vesper service. The
inal thihg this Christmas was ttie
nredawn caroling by the seniors
m a candlelight procession
around campus on the ^
the start of vacation. Between
934 and 1935. ^ere were smd
rnips as to the length of eacn
could le^ave for Eastefbecause of
rhristmas dance was no longer
KtTe the traditional programs
Arties became more elabo-
-SSSTnti^-
rDTce&oughrpeanu.
r?fe cmistmas vacation, the
?es?den^s on each hali drew
names, and each shell kept the
name of her peanut a secret. A lit
tle gift was slipped nightly into the
stocking hung on the peanut’s
decorated door. On the last day a
nice gift was bestowed and identi
ties revealed.
Christmas today at Saint
Mary’s involves many fun activi
ties for students. The annual
"Circle Beacon Party” is spon
sored by the Circle and Beacon
organizations. The Christmas
chapel service is also special to
many students because it marks
the halfway point of the year and
the birth of Christ. Even though
there are some students at Saint
Mary’s who are not believers in
Christmas, there are still many
things that everyorTe enjoys. The
Student Government Association
sponsors many activities along
with the beautiful “Lighting of the
Grove” performed by the
Granddaughters Club. The Cold
Cuts perform, and Santa usually
makes a happy visit to the
campus.
It is fun to think what kind of
things will be done at Saint
Mary’s in the year 2010! I can
only imagine the innovations that
will arise. Possibly a recycled
Christmas tree? Or maybe even a
present-wrapping machine?
Instead of having candy in the
stocking, maybe there will be
CDs. I cannot wait to see what
kind of things will arise in the next
couple of years. It should be inter
esting!!!
Virginia Johnson helps alums
decorate the campus
. r
.4 \t
Teacher Dances
in International
Festival
V
• f.
t f,-
. 1.
By Ellie Jarman
Anyone who did not go to the
International Festival in Raleigh
missed out. One of Saint Mary’s
very own was a dancer in one of
the groups that performed. She’s
from Poland and dances in a
Polish group. This summer she
started choreographing the group.
This famous person is Mrs.
Griener, the physics teacher, who
has been at SMC for 21 years.
She started dancing with her
brother when she was seven and
stopped at age ten, but six years
ago she resumed it for fun.
Merry CHristmas
and
Mayyy 9\lezv