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‘Tis the Season: Holiday Lights Event Brightens Campus

‘Tis the Season: Holiday Lights Event Brightens Campus

Carolers singing outdoors at the event, photographed from behind

OU community members gathered Tuesday evening for the annual Holiday Lights celebration, taking a moment to share the joy of this special time of year and to reflect on the meaning of the season.

This yearly festivity at David A. Burr Park features a number of traditions, including the lighting of the holiday tree, menorah and the crescent moon; seasonal music led by the Singing Sooners and the OU Wind Symphony Brass; complimentary hot chocolate, hot apple cider, cookies and s’mores; and of course, Santa Claus.

During the event, remarks about the season were offered by OU President Joseph Harroz Jr.; OU Student Government Association President Tavana Farzaneh; Allen Hertzke, professor emeritus and founding director of OU’s Religious Studies Program; Imad Enchassi, founder and senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City; and Zach Kampf, director of Jewish Student Life at OU Hillel.

In his remarks, President Harroz observed that Holiday Lights is a unifying event that brings the OU community together.

“Seeing the optimism here tonight identifies who we are as a university,” Harroz said. “A university is a place to learn and understand each other … I love that here, we choose to recognize our differences as strengths – that we have so much in common and so many shared values.”

Two members of the OU Community chat and roast marshmallows
Adult hands child a cup of hot cocoa in front of the dorm buildings
Lighting of a giant Menorah at the event
lighting of the crescent moon
The lighting of the christmas tree
A speaker at the podium near the gazebo
Students post for a photo op with Santa
Students pose together under flurries of faux bubble snow

By Melissa Caperton; Photography by Travis Caperton

Article Published:  Wednesday, December 1, 2021