By Eshana Hora ’27
While Choate students braced themselves for cold gusts of wind and shorter days in the beginning of the winter term, campus was warmed up by the multitude of religious celebrations hosted by spiritual groups. Two key events during this period were the Hanukkah Party and Lessons and Carols, held on December 8 and December 10, respectively.
Rabbi Barbara Paris hosted the Hanukkah Party to celebrate the Festival of Lights. At the event, students prepared Jewish latkes and spent time playing traditional games like dreidel. They also received chocolate gelt, lit the menorah, and retold the story of Hanukkah over a hearty meal.
According to Rabbi Paris, most students stayed at the well-attended event for close to three hours. Rabbi Paris explained that her goal with the dinner was to “create safe spaces where people can explore and learn and be together,” adding that there was a “place for everybody.”
The Lessons and Carols service, hosted by Reverend Aaron Rathbun, Director of Spiritual Life and Protestant Chaplain, invited a mix of both Choate students and Wallingford residents to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
The echoes of hymns filled the Seymour St. John Chapel, accompanied by the voices of Choate’s Festival and Chamber Choruses, a group of student instrumentalists, and the pipe organ. Students from Christian Fellowship read aloud scripture detailing the birth of Jesus, which was followed by a candle-lighting ceremony at the end of the service.
By the end of the event, 200 candles had completely melted, and 250 pre-prepared bulletins were gone. Rev. Rathbun hopes students gained both an opportunity to observe Christianity in action and a chance to enjoy the music.
“I hope it’s a blessing to those for whom they belong to that tradition, where they get to celebrate the birth of Jesus and observe their faith,” he said. “And from an aesthetic perspective, for students to be able to appreciate the arts, it’s a nice service to hear some great singing.”
Behind the success of each event was the time spent planning and coordinating. Rabbi Paris said a lot of the “legwork” and scheduling took time to figure out, especially with the fear that students wouldn’t show up because of other conflicting events.
In the end, both Rev. Rathbun and Rabbi Paris expressed that all the behind-the-scenes work was worth it because of the high attendance and the joy that people experienced.
