Christmas is celebrated worldwide as the birthday of Jesus Christ and deliverance of humanity from evil. The spread of love and peace among humankind is the supreme message of Christmas. The festival is celebrated on 25 December every year.
This year, the Departments of Arts and Interior Design, organized a weeklong celebration to mark the Spirit Week. The celebrations were held from 19 to 26 December in the School of Graduate Studies campus and it saw the students participating with great joy and enthusiasm.
To keep up the spirit of Christmas, all students and teachers were given a dress code for each day. The dress codes were mostly different color combinations like blue and white, white and black, red and green, and green and white, all of which are generally considered Christmas colors. One of the days also saw the students and teachers swathed in sweaters and caps to celebrate the winter season.
Before beginning the celebrations, the students decorated a beautiful Christmas tree with different ornaments, tinsel, snow and twinkling lights, hung up balloons, and decorated the lobby to spread the Christmas spirit in everyone who entered the campus. Each day of Spirit Week was assigned for different activities.
Saturday, 19 December 2015:
On the first day, the students ushered in the Christmas season with melodious carols and by performing a part of the nativity play. Students dressed up as Mary, Joseph, the 3 Kings, and the angel and played out the Christmas story from the scene where the angel Gabriel tells Mother Mary that she would give birth to the Savior.
Dr. R Shanti Iyer, Center Head, SGS, inaugurated the Toy for Joy movement this year, which was originally initiated by the Department of Arts three years ago and continues strongly. This was followed by a brief message by Dr. R Shanti Iyer on the spirit of Christmas during which she encouraged the students to donate their old toys for those needy and underprivileged children who’s Christmas would be filled with joy with these gifts.
Monday, 21 December 2015:
On the second day of Spirit Week, a poster-making event was organized with the theme “The spirit of Christmas”. Many students participated in the event and came up with their own versions of the spirit of Christmas and what the season meant to them. A Christmas photo-op was also organized where teachers and students were given props like Santa Claus mask, a tiara, and others items to take fun pictures with their friends. This was greatly enjoyed by both teachers and students.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015:
A beautiful and peppy carol singing by the teachers marked Day 3 of Christmas celebrations. It came as a surprise to the students to see their beloved teachers singing and entertaining them with upbeat numbers and enthusiasm.
Wednesday, 23 December 2015:
Day 4 of Christmas was earmarked with the appreciation of the sub-staff of SGS, Jain (Deemed-to-be University). It was mainly organized by the Department of Interior Design. The staff and students of SGS, made use of this opportunity to appreciate and thank the sub-staff of the campus for their kind and wholehearted effort throughout the year.
The celebration started with various programs and activities where students performed dances, sang carols, and conducted a unique sand art performance. The celebration ended with the presentation of tokens of appreciation to all the sub-staff.
Saturday, 26 December 2015:
The final day of Christmas celebrations witnessed the students displaying the last part of the nativity play where the shepherds are told about the birth of the Savior and the three Kings arrive with gifts to meet and worship the Savior. The carol accompanied them with renditions of “Mary’s boy child”, “Santa Claus is coming”, and “We wish you a merry Christmas”. The students were further thrilled when Santa Claus actually came to town and interacted with all of them and distributed sweets. The celebrations ended with a cake cutting.
Even though the celebrations ended on the day, the hearts of all students and children were filled with joy, happiness, and the spirit of giving.
