With a tradition dating back more than 30 years, Creighton University will launch its celebration of the Christmas season with the Inter Residence Hall Government’s annual Christmas at Creighton holiday lighting ceremony at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
About 50,000 lights will glow along the mall when the switch is thrown and will remain lit until the end of the year. Creighton administrators and students will also offer Christmas greetings from the steps of St. John’s Church and, following the lighting ceremony, a meal will be shared at the Skutt Student Center Ballroom. This year's Christmas at Creighton theme is Christmas Around the World.
In the 1960s, singing groups often serenaded the student body with Christmas carols as another means of bringing cheer and a bit of light to what can be, for students, a sometimes stressful time of year as the fall semester with all its attendant final examinations, papers and projects, draws to a close.
By 1984, the University lit its first official Christmas tree and, with a few strands of lights wired down Skinner Mall, the first Christmas at Creighton was observed.