On November 29th at 2:25, Christmas began at Providence Academy. In different classrooms, members of each house decorated socks for St. Nick.
Christmas at Providence is one of the most festive times of the year. From decorations to activities, everyone at PA gets into the Christmas spirit.
“My favorite thing about Christmas at Providence is that they put up decorations like the big trees. The whole atmosphere feels so Christmas-y!” stated Abigail Collins ’20.
Some of the most fun Christmas activities are upper school House activities. It gives the students a time to relax and have fun with friends, especially as final exams draw closer.
In years past, some popular house Christmas activities were cookie decorating, making cards, secret Santa, listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, and drinking hot cocoa.
This year’s activities brought not only bonding and relaxation, but new beginnings. This year, Houses decorated stockings to hang outside of their lockers for St. Nick’s annual visit to PA (during which Dr. Flanders is always mysteriously absent!)

Decorating socks is to be a new tradition for House. Traditions are extremely important at PA, especially to bond upperclassmen and underclassmen.

House leader for Epsilon Essie Broich ’18 stated, “Traditions bring people together, they don’t even have to be Christmas related. Traditions in general are something that’s familiar to everyone. They help us bond as a group.”

House in general is a great way for students from different classes to get to know one another. Establishing festive traditions is a helpful tool in breaking the barriers between students.
Forming relationships is one of the most important parts of high school. Cait Heaney ’19 summed it up by stating,”This year feels especially festive. New traditions are always fun. It really reminds us that this is such a joyful time of the year.”