This year has been one like no other. However, the girls at Montrose, especially in tenth grade, have made it amazing. Nothing, not even a pandemic, can stop Montrose girls from finding a way to celebrate our Christmas traditions. This year, my grade definitely spread the Christmas spirit throughout the two weeks of in person school between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, decorating, spending time with each other, giving each other gifts, and just embracing the cheer.

Christmas time is normally very rushed and stressful. We are all busy with end of semester work and family activities, but it is important to gather as a school community and shake off all that stress. The teachers are also busy making sure that they have covered all the material they planned to cover by the end of the semester. In the end, it’s always worth getting surprised by some student’s thoughtful Christmas present. I think we can all agree that sometimes it feels like we are drinking from a firehose with all the exams and projects due, so Christmas traditions are a great break for everyone.

The Montrose Christmas traditions started on Monday, December 7. At Montrose, I’d say we are pretty serious about Christmas and the traditions that come with it. Montrose celebrated with two full weeks of fun activities filled with Christmas spirit.  

Even though our minds were locked onto all the work that we had to do, we began to feel festive that first fine morning  just awaiting the fun to come. Tenth grade in particular had quite a few tests to prepare for and, of course, had many homework assignments. Nevertheless, we gathered for classes, hopeful because Christmas was coming. This year, we started our first Monday of Montrose Christmas by making angels to warm up our skills for the major decorating to come. 

On Tuesday and Thursday, a new spin on decorating day was introduced to the Montrose girls, which in the past had been only a single half hour- a mad dash to the finish. This year, however, students found that having the two days made it easier to see the project to completion. My class had two different themes for our rooms: New York Christmas and Snowy Christmas. For the New York Christmas room, we drew cityscapes on the white boards and windows, and also placed a variety of knickknacks around the room. For the Snowy Christmas room, we cut out a bunch of paper snowflakes, even 3D snowflakes, and paper chains which were hung all about the classroom. With two days to do it, some students went home and crafted snowflakes and chains to bring in on Thursday, which was a big advantage compared to previous years.

Many people were disappointed because we were not able to do the pole decorating, which had been a beloved tradition at Montrose where each grade would elaborately design and customize one pole in the cafeteria, in addition to their classrooms. Unfortunately, this tradition met the chopping block, falling victim to Covid-19 restrictions, for the activity required students to be in close contact.

Montrose Christmas was virtual on that Wednesday, so students had a chance for Big/Little sister bonding while playing a fun game of Scribble.io. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is an online website where groups compete to guess each other’s prompted drawings. This was an enjoyable new bonding experience, however promptly cut short because I had to go to virtual class. Another fun change brought on by the pandemic was that the tradition of singing a Montrose rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas morphed into a presentation of candy canes by the seniors. The senior class filled bags with candy canes and decorated the bag with a part of the song. The usual tradition was that each grade would sing the line of the song corresponding to their grade number and the entire school would gather to sing the whole song. For example, my grade, the 10th grade, would be “ten lords-a-leaping.” We all miss the ‘five golden rings’ moment.

The second Monday of Montrose Christmas marked the start of Secret Santa. The theme for the day was candy, which involved masterful planning of secret candy delivery via classmates, teachers, and siblings. Tuesday was spa day, and Montrose girls shared many gifts of nail polish, facial treatments, and bath bombs. We also displayed our ugly sweaters and socks on this day, which some adorned with lights and bells. One particularly witty student simply taped a mirror to her school sweater jokingly, which gave everyone a great laugh. On our second virtual Wednesday, the school was treated to a prerecorded Lessons and Carols. Montrose students and faculty displayed their musicality, some students solemnly read Bible passages, the wonderful middle school tone chimers played, and the recently reinstated handbells choir rang out proudly, led by the formidable Mrs. Demirjian. The Thursday of Secret Santa week is usually a day of helping others who have less, so we collected food for donation this year. However, it was a virtual school day, due to the snow, but that didn’t stop the Christmas spirit! Many students in my grade spent Thursday like children in the snow in their backyards, and the school brought in donations for the Holliston Pantry Shelf the following day. Virtual skits, the Grinch and the unveiling of our secret santas ensued on the final Friday. Of course, the grand finale was the clean up which was really fun.

Although the year end is always difficult, and 2020 has been especially tough for all, Christmas is always a time of joy. My class really enjoyed the revised Christmas traditions this year and hope to reintegrate the old into the new next season.

by Maria Fasse ’23, Contributing Writer

mfasse23@montroseschool.org