With the temperature dropping like some of our semester grades, there is no doubt that Christmas is right around the corner. It is the most anticipated time of the year, and St. Dominic does not fall short on celebrating it. The Christmas traditions are some of the most beloved at St. Dominic, leaving an impact on our community for many years to come.

Nothing can get people into the holiday spirit more than friendly competition. Contact times

battle once again in the annual door decorating contest. Each grade is given a theme for inspiration. The freshman were given “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and sophomores have “Frosty the Snowman.” The juniors have “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” while the seniors have “Walking in a Winter Wonderland.” The doors were judged Monday afternoon, with one door awarded the prize for each class. Due to the sophomores’ lack of participation, two freshman classes, Mrs. Findley and Mrs. Beckmann, were declared co-winners. Mrs. Overberg took the prize for the juniors, while the HUB was the victorious senior door. Last year’s overall door-decorating champion, Mr. Jason Asher, loves the contest because win or lose, the goal of bringing out the Christmas spirit is accomplished.

“As the defending champion, the door-decorating contest is my favorite tradition because it’s amazing to see my Freshmen Advisory come together and really get excited for the holidays,” said Mr. Asher.

Another teacher in the bottom 400’s hallway understands that the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is playing music for all to hear. Yes, the infamous “Chrissy the Christmas Mouse” has returned in Mr. Dennis Matthews’ and Mrs. Stacy Hayes’ classrooms, and can be heard countless times throughout a school day. Mr. Matthews has been playing this song for about nine years now, engraving the catchy tune and lyrics into the minds of students past and present.

“I enjoy playing ‘Chrissy the Christmas Mouse’ to bring out the Christmas spirit, and I get to irritate my students,” said Mr. Matthews.

Another amazing tradition put on by our contact times is the Adopt-A-Family Fundraiser. Each contact time adopts their own family and raises enough money to give to those who are not fortunate enough to buy everything on their Christmas list. As a school which stands on the pillar of service, making this a season of giving is the best tradition of all. The seasonal cheer even spreads to the basketball court each year, in the Christmas Basketball Tournament.

“My favorite St. Dominic Christmas tradition is playing in the Christmas tournament, seeing all of our fans wearing their best ugly Christmas sweaters, and really coming together as a family,” said junior Ben Mueller.

Besides the studying for finals and the rushing to find the last-minute Christmas presents, this is truly the most wonderful time of the year. St. Dominic prides itself on tradition, and getting to share our traditions with others is what Christmas is all about. Coming back to school next semester, the door decorations will come down, the presents will have been opened and “Chrissy the Christmas Mouse” will go into hibernation for another year, but our school’s traditions will continue to live on.