SCHEDULE OF EVENTS and Season of Light in The Hemmingson Center
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
Deepavali | October 13-23, 2017
We kicked off the Season of Light with the Hindu celebration, Deepavali, a festival that celebrates the ability of humans to find an inner light, that will lead to a joyful and bountiful life. We celebrated with the creation of a Rangoli, art created out of colored sand.
Christmas Tree Lighting & Multicultural Celebration of Christmas | 5 PM, November 28, 2017
Gonzaga and the Spokane community will come together for the traditional lighting of the Christmas tree in the Rotunda. Music featured by the Gonzaga Choir, Brass Quartet and Big Bing Theory. The COG will be open for a holiday dinner including prime rib for only $5 a person. Live stream the Gonzaga Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration here.
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.
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.
PARTICIPATE FROM AFAR
Send a message of light and love in celebration of this holiday season to a member of our GU community. Videos will be displayed 11/22-11/28 in the Rotunda. Submissions are due 11/15.
Record a 10-15 second video
Send to welcomedesk@gonzaga.edu with the subject line Seasons of Light Messages
Include in the email:
names of the individuals in the video
to whom you are sending the video
your relation to the recipient
where you are from
*The GUEST department reserves the right to decline any submission that displays inappropriate content or that does not align with the Gonzaga mission statement.
Live stream the Gonzaga Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration at online.gonzaga.edu/streaming
Follow us on social media to see photos and videos during the Season of Light.
Twitter: @GUHemmingson
Instagram: @GUHemmingson
Facebook: HemmingsonCenter