Christmas at JC is a special time that only comes once a year. A plethora of unique events take place, and each new event becomes a part of the JC tradition.

While students, faculty, and staff will begin their Christmas vacation later today, holiday celebrations have been taking place for the last three weeks.

Upon returning from the Thanksgiving break, the Christmas season began immediately as advisories began to decorate their doors and areas. During the week of November 28, Patriots were given three extended advisories to plan and decorate their doors.

The doors were judged by the Three Wise Men: Mr. Ken Goedeke, Mr. Jake Hollin, and Mr. Scott Porter. Winners were recognized at the end of the day on December 9.
Judges selected their Top Six Overall as well as six Honorable Mentions. The top advisories won Dunkin’ gift cards.

Junior Sophie Anderson from Mr. Lawler’s winning advisory said, “I felt that our placing was very deserved. We all worked very hard and had a great time doing it.”
Mr. Lawler’s advisory created a hot chocolate display.

This year, the Festival of Lights allowed the public to view JC’s uniquely decorated hallways and doors. On the evening of December 10, families traveled to JC to enjoy the lights and soak in the Christmas spirit. It is estimated that over 1000 community members attended the event.
In addition to the decorated hallways at the Festival of Lights, there was a train, a craft area, and Santa’s Village. Many of the organizations and sports teams also decorated trees.

The Student Government Association (SGA) began its “12 Days Before Christmas Vacation” challenge on December 1. At the beginning of each school day, SGA sent out a “selfie task” for students. Patriots posted their selfies for a chance to be featured in an SGA Instagram post and to win a JC Christmas ornament.

Freshman Peyton Ey said that the challenge “really added something new to look forward to every morning. It was so much fun to participate, and I can’t wait to do it all again the next couple years.”

SGA Co-Moderator Allison Hall said that the 12 Days event provided a nice countdown to the final day of school. “Some of the most popular days were when we asked for selfies with favorite teachers or Christmas backgrounds.”

During the week of December 4, students and teachers were able to purchase Christmas Candy Grams during lunch mods. The Candy Grams included a few sweet treats. The grams were distributed by junior SGA members earlier this week.

In addition to week-long events, there were also a few days devoted to specific activities. On December 13, Patriots wore their favorite ugly Christmas sweaters. Bright colors of red and green filled the hallways.

Also on Tuesday, students were greeted by SGA members outside who were passing out candy canes. Patriot Santa was there dancing to holiday tunes.

Students participated in the Gingerbread House Contest on December 14. After school, Patriots gathered in the cafeteria to build their own gingerbread houses in teams.

The Annual Christmas Program Assembly took place earlier today. Students in the Performing Arts took to the auditorium stage to display their talents. Classes were shortened to provide time for all grades to watch the performances.

SGA Co-Moderator Anthony Davidson said, “Christmas celebrations are a part of the identity of the school. We are a Catholic institution.”

He added that JC’s traditions during December are a great opportunity to “get everyone into the spirit of the holidays and bring the school together.”