SEASON OF LIGHT IN THE HEMMINGSON CENTER
We celebrate various traditions throughout this Season of Light in the Hemmingson Center, and tip off our Advent Season with the traditional lighting of the Gonzaga Christmas Tree. The Season of Light is a Gonzaga tradition, celebrating all that’s good in our communities and recognizing the importance of light in our world. Celebrating light – a universal human need – reminds us of our common humanity and our interconnectedness.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Advent | December 2-24, 2017
Advent is celebrated with an Advent Wreath hung in the Rotunda. The Advent Wreath symbolizes the passage of the four Sundays and weeks of Advent (before Christmas) in the liturgical calendar of the Western church. Advent means ‘Coming’ in Latin, as in the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare for, and remember the real meaning, of Christmas.
UPCOMING ADVENT ACTIVITIES
Dec. 7 – The Bells of St. Mary’s movie showing, 7 PM, Hemmingson Auditorium
Dec. 7 – A reading of The Night Before Christmas with milk and cookies, 9 PM, Hemm Den
Dec. 8 – Candlelight Christmas Concert, 7:30 PM, St. Aloysius Church
Dec. 8 – Christmas Open House, 9 am – 3 PM, UMIN
Dec. 8 – Elf movie showing, 7 PM, Hemmingson Auditorium
Dec. 9 – Hot Chocolate at the Hemmingson Welcome Desk
Dec. 9 – Candlelight Christmas Concert, 2 PM, St. Aloysius Church
Dec. 9 – The Polar Express movie showing, 7 PM, Hemmingson Auditorium
Dec. 11 – Advent Reflection, 8:30 AM, Hemmingson 104
Dec. 11 – A Christmas Carol radio play, 4 PM, Hemmingson Rotunda
Dec. 11 – COG Late Night Breakfast, 9-11 PM, COG
Dec. 13 – Hot Apple Cider at Hemmingson Welcome Desk
Dec. 14 – It’s a Wonderful Life movie showing (A Christmas Gift to the Gonzaga Community from GUEST), 7 PM, Hemmingson Auditorium, Santa and activities precede the show, 6-7 PM
Hanukkah | December 12-20, 2017
Our very own Jewish Bulldogs will help us celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah, a festival that commemorates the historical rededications of the temple 165 B.C.E. after brutal occupation by Greek invaders. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah.
Kwanzaa | December 26, 2017 – January 1, 2018
Celebrating seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba formulated from the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange in the world. Lighting seven candles for each principle, Kwanzaa is a time of reflection with family and friends.
Lunar New Year & Spring Festival | February 16, 2018
A Main Street display of traditional Chinese lanterns and lights will showcase the many ways that Asian societies celebrate the new year.