Holiday Traditions Begin Again at Tabor

In the three short weeks between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break, the Tabor schedule is filled with many long-lasting holiday traditions for all members of the community.

The traditions began on Monday night, when all the seniors were invited to the head of school’s house for a class gathering. Each senior decorated an ornament for the house’s Christmas tree, decorated (and ate) holiday cookies, drank hot chocolate, and took pictures together in front of the tree.

“This is a pretty hectic time for a lot of the seniors, and this was a great chance to relax and just be together,” said Student Head of School Joslyn Jenkins. “We’re almost too busy to realize that this is our last year here and it was so great to bond and focus on being a unified senior class.”

This upcoming weekend is packed with traditions, as the last full weekend before Winter Break. Saturday morning begins with what is for many members of the community a true highlight of the year – the annual Holiday Breakfast.

The Dining Hall will be decked out in full Christmas decorations, students and faculty will be dressed in Christmas garb, and plates will be filled with copious amounts of holiday breakfast food.

“I usually walk away with a food coma, considering the fact that I’ve probably eaten five Belgian waffles,” joked senior Duhita Das. “It’s during a time of stress and anxiety and allows me to get into the holiday spirit and eat.”

Immediately following the Holiday Breakfast, the entire Tabor community will gather again in Hoyt Hall just a few steps away and listen to the bands perform in the annual Winter Concert. At 10:15 am, Tabor’s Wind Ensemble and String Ensemble will perform selections they have worked on throughout the last several weeks.

Among the several pieces set to be performed, featured songs include “Waltz of the Flowers” from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker and Adele’s “Skyfall” from the String Ensemble, and a collection of music from the movie Mission Impossible and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” from the Wind Ensemble.

On Sunday, the musical traditions continue at Tabor with the annual “Festival of Lessons & Carols” at 7:30 pm in Wickenden Chapel. While it still holds much of the ceremonial structure of the traditional Christian celebration, it is exclusively a choral performance featuring several of the choral groups on campus, including the various Chamber Choirs and the Madrigal Singers.

One featured piece they will perform is “Gloria caritas, pax et amor,” a composition by Tabor’s choral conductor and organist David Horne, which will incorporate all the singing groups into the piece. The performance is free and open to the public.

On the final few days before Winter Break, students and faculty can expect more festive activities around campus. While they have yet to be finalized, in years past spirit days such as “Ugly Christmas Sweater Day” have been popular and are likely to happen again.

“You know it’s a good day when you can walk through the hallways wearing the ugliest Christmas sweater you’ve ever seen,” said senior Cailyn Garber.

By Jack Gordon

 

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