The All-School Holiday Gathering on Dec. 11 brought all three divisions together in Warner Arena to celebrate the season and learn about holidays observed by Ravens of several faith traditions at this time of year.

Ravens were dressed up for the occasion, which was a “Holiday Best” day as part of the winter-season Spirit Week. With heavy rain throughout the morning, many Lower School students enjoyed the exciting opportunity to ride Ravenscroft buses over to the Olander Center for Student Life at the A.E. Finley Activity Center.

Spiritual Task Force member Linh Tran ’26 welcomed everyone to the gathering, and Lower School student Grace Oladipo ’36 led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Giana Hill ’27 then shared a reflection from her Christian faith perspective, exploring the meaning behind the Christmas holiday and how her family observes the special time of year.

“A tradition that my family and I have at Christmas is attending a Christmas Eve service at church,” she said. “The service usually consists of a telling of the Christmas story, singing Christmas-related worship songs such as ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Joy to the World,’ but the part of the service that has always stuck out to me the most is when we turn down the lights and we all hold a candle and pass the fire to each other’s candles one by one while we sing more worship songs.”

The assembly then enjoyed special music from the Upper School Wind Ensemble, “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,” directed by Co-Director of Bands Matthew Parunak. 

Next, Sebastian Barroso ’29 and Ethan Silverman ’25 spoke about the significance of the Jewish festival Hanukkah. Their remarks began with Sebastian saying a prayer in Hebrew. “We say these prayers as we light the menorah every night for Hanukkah,” he explained.

Ethan then shared the origin of the eight-day observance and reflected on its importance to the Jewish people. “Throughout history, Jewish people have been targeted for their beliefs, and that has not stopped today,” he said. “With the current rise in antisemitism, the holiday gives the Jewish people strength and resilience. As we celebrate this year, we are especially thankful to live in the United States, a country founded on religious freedom where all religions are free to practice their faith.” 

PreKindergarten teacher Lana Dubose then talked about her own family’s holiday tradition that started when her mother — a home economics teacher who was very creative — began making her own ornaments for their Christmas tree. 

She chose a few different kinds of beads and wire and, the next Christmas, our tree was just alive and sparkling with her new creations! All of the effort and love that she put in each ornament added a special glow and made our tree so very special. Through the years, she would add a few new ornaments each holiday season. In 2001, my mom passed away in October and that Christmas was different, and we were able to keep her memory alive as we placed her ornaments on the Christmas tree.  

It has become a tradition in my home to have a tree solely decorated with the ornaments that she made. Each ornament is a treasure that we will keep throughout the years and generations to come. 

As she closed, Dubose said, “I would like to leave you with this: This holiday season, give of yourself, do something special for someone. It may only take a few minutes of your time, but it could create a memory that could last a lifetime.”

Head of School Derrick Willard closed the gathering with a brief exploration of the origin of the term “holiday” — from “holy day” — and its use today to mean as well a vacation or break from the everyday. He said of the school’s coming Holiday Break, “A holiday season approaches from work, and for some that means there are holy days in which to pause and reflect. … I hope that each of you, like Mrs. Dubose, finds moments of meaning with family and friends — that you enjoy making new memories to cherish. And, if we do not have the chance to see each other in the next seven days of school, I wish you peace, prosperity, and joy in the new year.”

Thank you to the student-led Spiritual Task Force and their advisor, Assistant Director of Admissions Sean Kelly, for putting the program together.