Students reflected on their experience at Seton Hall’s annual “Christmas at the Hall” tree lighting ceremony, which took place on Nov. 28.
Kaitlyn Spadaro, a sophomore elementary/special education major, said she had a much better experience at this year's ceremony than in the past.
Sparado said, in 2021, she had to attend alone because one of her friends had the flu, another took her to urgent care, and her other two friends were in the Christmas Cabaret.
“In a sea of blue, I remember being in the back of the crowd trying to see my two friends, one in a bright pink ensemble with a matching ugly hat and the other in a pilgrim-looking outfit with a straw hat that covered her eyes,” Sparado said.
She added that her favorite part of the 2022 Christmas celebration was spending time with her friends and her sorority Alpha Omicron Pi. She said the ceremony put her in the “Christmas spirit.”
“The ceremony symbolizes the strength of the Seton Hall community,” Spadaro said.
Joshua Axton, a sophomore diplomacy and economics double major, said he needed a break after a stressful day and the ceremony was the “perfect event.”
Axton said the celebration reminds him of his own family traditions.
“First, we place all our special ornaments with meanings that only we could understand and then we place the star on the top of the tree,” Axton said. “Finally, we sit back and watch the tree light up the room.”
Kayla Sullivan, a sophomore elementary/special education major, said she loved being a part of her Seton Hall community.
Sullivan said she liked listening to the crowd chant, “Be the tree.” She added that this is her second year attending this ceremony.
“The lighting of the Christmas tree means so much to me and to the whole Seton Hall community because it takes the stress out of the day and for a moment no one is worried about finals or expectations; they're just ‘being the tree,’” Sullivan said.
Morgan Frye can be reached at morgan.frye@student.shu.edu.
