By Christopher Bower//
Students, families and friends filled the Hood Chapel for the annual celebration of cultures that observe holidays in December, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and Kwanzaa.
Music was provided by Hood College’s Department of Music and featured performances by the Hood College String Ensemble, Hood College Wind Ensemble, Hood College Choir and Hood College Dance Ensemble.
Songs performed during the event included “A Hanukkah Festival,” “Walking in the Air,” “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “Underneath the Tree” and “Palladio.”
Students also read poems from each culture, each reflecting its respective holiday.
Event coordinators provided guests with candles, which were lit at the end of the event during a final prayer led by Beth O’Malley.
Holidays at Hood has been an annual event dating back to when Hood College was an all-women’s college. At that time, it was primarily a choir event and did not include multiple cultural traditions.
The original name of the event was “Vespers,” and it was centered around Christianity rather than the diverse representation seen today. The shift to include new traditions happened around 2009 and 2010, according to the Rev. Beth O’Malley, dean of the Hood College Chapel.
Before the shift, Holidays at Hood invited specific attendees, including members of the U.S. Naval Academy.
“Hood is always evolving,” O’Malley said when asked about potential pushback to the changes.
The shift occurred after students requested that their holidays be represented. From there, Holidays at Hood became more multi-religious.
O’Malley said she strives to ensure every religion is included in the event, though she acknowledged that some may have been missed.
“There is always going to be room for improvement,” O’Malley said.
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