SOUTH ORANGE — Hundreds of people gathered on the Seton Hall University campus to mark the 15th annual Christmas at the Hall celebration and Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 3, on the University Green.
The event included live performances from talented campus groups, including the Seton Hall University Theatre Council, Seton Hall Sapphires, Seton Hall Pep Band, K@SHU (K-Pop Club) and Pirate Santa joining with the men’s and women’s basketball teams to make a memorable night for all in attendance.
The University’s Christmas program has consistently been recognized as No.1 for Christmas—and the school ranked the best college in America for “Holiday Events” by Best College Reviews and has the “Most Cheerful Christmas Traditions” by Academic Influence.
Seton Hall began by offering a Christmas at the Hall Mass at 5 p.m. in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, with the Rev. Joseph R. Reilly, university president, as the main celebrant, assisted by the Rev. Nicholas Sertich, the Rev. Colin Kay, the Rev. John Dennehy, and the Rev. Nicholas Figurelli, immediately followed by the Nativity Blessing at the Crèche.
The community gathered in a sea of blue on the University Green for the traditional Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony that included hot cocoa and candy canes, Santa hats and a special prayer to bless the tree and all those in attendance by the Rev. Colin Kay.
Emcees Winston Roberts, assistant vice president of Student Services and dean of Student Engagement, and Kai Hansen, senior and president of the SGA, then invited attendees to count down to the actual lighting ceremony as a special switch was pulled to electrify the night to the cheers of the crowd with the lighting of the 75-foot-tall Norway Spruce displaying more than 40,000 brilliant lights.
The Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) encouraged all to participate in its annual Love Thy Neighbor: DOVE Toy Drive benefiting several schools and agencies in Newark, the Maplewood-South Orange School District and the Don Bosco Youth Center.
In addition to local sites, DOVE donates gifts for impoverished children in West Virginia, as they have done for over 25 years. Each year, the community donates upwards of 1,500 toys for children in need.
It was also DOVE Mission Night, where volunteers gathered in the Campus Ministry Lounge in Boland Hall to prepare snack bags for elementary school children in need of weekend meals.
The evening’s finale provided a magnificent light show at the halo structure in the center of the Green, with snow machines and glowing multi-colored lighting moving in rhythm to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Carol of the Bells.”
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