By Naomi Mellema – Staff Writer

As Dec. 25 draws near and the semester begins winding down, Christmas events around Dordt University’s campus are kicking off. Dordt offers a variety of Christmas-oriented events and activities for students, faculty, and staff.

The Learning Community Area Coordinators and Resident Assistants are responsible for planning and hosting many Christmas events around campus. Many of the events and activities are planned before December, in preparation for the Christmas season.

“I enjoy the festive spirit around,” Keely Kolbrek, an RA in Covenant Hall, said. “Seeing decorations in the dorm halls and campus buildings is fun.”

One of the Christmas activities this year was Deck the Halls. Residents of West Hall and Covenant Hall were encouraged to decorate their dorm room doors for Christmas. Residents used wrapping paper, lights, and other decorations and supplies to bring spirit and excitement to the dorm halls. Some doors are transformed into fireplaces with stockings, the North Pole, and Christmas trees with presents. After decorating, residents submitted a picture of their door for judging. Submissions were due on Dec. 3. Judges will review the submissions and announce a winner at the Gingerbread Battle on Dec. 7. The Deck the Halls winner will receive a record player and Bing Crosby’s Christmas album on vinyl.

The Gingerbread Battle, another Christmas event on campus, will be held in the Campus Center on Dec. 7. For this event, all girls on campus can sign up in pairs. Pairs will then be combined to form teams. The teams will compete against one another for a few possible awards, which will be announced at the event.

Kolbrek thinks that an all-campus ice-skating event would be a fun addition to Christmas celebrations in the future. With Christmas music playing, she thinks that the ice-skating rink could be a great atmosphere for socializing and celebrating Christ’s birth together.

“I also love Christmas chapel,” Kolbrek said. “You can tell it is focused on Advent. It is a consistent reminder that Jesus is coming, and we get to celebrate that.”

The Advent Chapel, one of the main all-campus Christmas events, will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 11 a.m. The chapel will be centered around the theme of Advent, the coming and preparation for Christ’s birth. The Advent Chapel will be different from normal chapels as it will have all Christmas songs. Annabelle Hosmer and Dillan De Jong will be the Worship Coordinators leading the Advent Chapel this year.

The Dordt Worship Coordinators understand that Christmas songs are not always everyone’s favorite, but they see a lot of value in songs that proclaim Christ’s birth.

“Some people can get sick of Christmas songs, but they really are so joyful,” Jenna Hekman, a sophomore Worship Coordinator, said. “They are steeped in Scripture. Some songs are about us and what we want, but these songs are completely based in Christ, which I love.”