SXU Celebrates the Christmas Season
Saint Xavier University (SXU) celebrated the Christmas season all December. With beautiful Christmas decorations set up around campus, a community devoted to giving back and living its Mercy heritage and talented musicians bringing holiday cheer, the festivities of the season were in full swing at SXU.
The holiday season kicked off with the annual Christmas Spectacular, where the SXU Music Department brought the magic and joy of holiday music with a variety of performances from the Chorale, Chamber Singers, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble and more. Students, faculty and staff raved about the performances and look forward to them every year. "The Christmas Spectacular was fantastic. We had over eight ensembles perform a gorgeous collection of holiday favorites. It is always great to see all our students, directors and SXU community come together for this wonderful holiday tradition," said Shawn Salmon, D.A., director of Jazz Studies.
The SXU community also came together for the 13th Annual Holiday tea, savoring the Christmas season with an afternoon of mingling and an assortment of refreshments. The Butler Reception Room was decked out with a beautifully-decorated Christmas tree and guests were treated to an afternoon of holiday music. Alumna Margaret Harrigan '49 thoroughly enjoyed the tea. "This was the perfect holiday experience!" said Harrigan. Jean Gainer, director of Alumni Relations, coordinated the event. "The food was delicious and the atmosphere was magical, but the true treasure was the bond of friendship, some decades old, others just dawning, that filled the room," said Gainer.
Tau Sigma visited Belhaven Nursing home for the second year in a row to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The Transfer Student Services Center team and students joined residents in the dining hall and presented them with care packages of candy, socks and ornaments and played games of bingo. The residents enjoyed the visit so much that they even danced with some of the Transfer Student Services Center team. "It makes you feel really good as a person to bring joy to other people's lives," said Eileen Luce, director of Transfer Student Services Center.
Students worked together to coordinate a toy collection for the holiday season for Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. The Student Veteran Alliance (SVA) and Psi Chi National Honor Society set up donation boxes all around campus. With the intent of bringing a little joy to children spending the holidays in the hospital, the student groups collected new, unwrapped gifts like toys, dolls, DVDs and video games. Students were thrilled to brighten the children's holiday season and will continue to give back for years to come. "We do this because as veterans, the military makes a lot of humanitarian efforts, and being back in school, we still want to provide outreach and connect with the SXU community for a notable cause. We strive to continue to help others," said Peter Sears, a current SXU student and veteran.
SXU is proud of all of the accomplishments made throughout the holiday season by the SXU community, who truly exemplify our core values. From our SXU family to yours, Merry Christmas!