Holiday Dorm Traditions Light Up “Hell Weeks”
By SAM ALTMAN, MADDIE BARRETT, EVAN CHEN, CIARA O’NEILL
As the countdown to winter break begins, new and returning students are buzzing with excitement for holiday festivities. Although the two-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas break is known as a whirlwind of exams, many dorms nevertheless go all out in celebrating the season. From Secret Santa gift exchanges to angeling to even wrapping fellow roommates like human presents, each dorm has its own way of expressing the holiday spirit.
Proctor and senior Keon Osei described how Ewald Dormitory celebrates with the classic Secret Santa gift exchange. “This is only our second year doing them, but holiday traditions have pushed the dorm community to learn more about each other and learn each other’s interests. This year, we’re doing Secret Santa and building gingerbread houses. For Secret Santa, we pick names out of a bowl and it really does make us connect with people we might not have otherwise,” he said.
“We also do a gingerbread house competition,” Osei continued. “We split off by the four hallway colors and the faculty decides at the end who wins. Last year we had gift cards but we’ll see this year. At the end, people destroy them and eat them, too.”
Similar to Secret Santa, several dorms participate in a tradition called “angeling,” where dormmates randomly draw people to “angel” and secretly bestow them with gifts over a certain time period. For example, proctor Jane Vernon mentioned that Amen Hall has an intricate angeling tradition that spans across three days.
“We have three days and your gift is supposed to get ‘bigger,’ as the days go on. So maybe one day you might give a grill cookie, and then the next day it’s two cookies, and so on. We also have a little spreadsheet for people to fill out with likes, dislikes, allergies, and room numbers. Beyond that, you can also get more information about your person by asking people who know them. For example, maybe someone will tell you that, while your person may have said that she likes chocolate, she actually wants dark chocolate, not milk chocolate,” Vernon said.
Vernon continued, “On the third day, we have a big angeling party when we all congregate as a dorm. There will be a lot of pizzas, cookies, cupcakes, and more. Then, during the party, you have to guess who your angel over the past three days was.”
Merrill Hall has similar angeling traditions and also has hopes to hold more decorating and dorm events this year. Merrill proctor Maddie Stein said that “having a little holiday party is just so fun. I don’t think we’re really going to do something big this year, but I feel like just getting the whole dorm together and keeping the tradition of angeling or decorating [is enough.].”
These proctors also recalled many funny moments from their Secret Santa and angeling events. “It’s pretty goofy, and people get really creative,” Vernon said. “Now, because of one of our Secret Santa events, our dorm has ended up with our own rendition of ‘Party in the USA’ by Miley Cyrus. The person who presented it actually changed the lyrics to fit Amen, and now I can’t hear the song without thinking of Amen.”
“People like to give playful gifts,” Osei reflected. “Last year, someone was gifted a set of bows—the kind you’d wear on your head—and someone even tried giving firewood. So that was pretty funny and festive and you really do get to see everyone’s personality and humor come out”
But beyond typical winter holiday traditions, other dorms participate in their own unique dorm traditions. Hoyt Hall incorporates a talent show into their winter activities. Proctor Sophia Wang shared, “It gives Hoytians an opportunity to show off their many talents, such as acting out skits. I’ve definitely found it to bring a lot of joy and laughter to the dorm and end off the winter term strong.”
Soule Hall proctor and senior Jackson Lyle said, “Our broadest tradition is just decorating outside of the dorm, in our rooms, and especially in the common room. Overall, we just make sure they’re nice and festive and get in the spirit that way. But beyond that, our main event is a dorm wrapping contest.”
“You join with a partner and then you have one person wrap someone else in fifteen minutes in the common room,” Lyle explained. “We’ve had a bunch of different costumes—from Superman to a trashcan. We also get different types of wrapping papers that are of various colors and materials. One of my favorite examples was Kai’s chef costume last year, even including the classic chef hat. For a prize, we like to give out coveted Soule flags because they’re a pretty rare commodity.”
Instructor in Science Kate Hernandez, the dorm head of Bancroft Hall and also the Assistant Dean of Residential Life, highlighted one of the amazing things about the different dorms at Exeter—its diversity of traditions. “I would say I think one of the great things about Exeter is that every dorm has a different flavor and a different approach to their dorm traditions. This time of year is no different. I noticed that some dorms like to celebrate light or think about winter fun generally,” remarked Hernandez.
As an Assistant Dean of Residential Life, Hernandez has also noticed how students feel while living through Exeter’s rough winters. “Oftentimes students are not necessarily feeling jazzed about the cold,” she said. “So just in terms of the residential life piece, I think it’s important to encourage people to think about what are the small joys in the winter or what’s something that you’ve never tried before but might be able to try through a dorm activity. Whether that’s going sledding or trying open skate or even just having a snowball fight outside—all of these things can be part of the seasonal fun.”
Vernon agreed, reflecting, “I think the fall term is such an overwhelming term in some ways but you’re also excited to see your friends and be back on campus. But then, as we go into the winter term, there’s so much people are scared of. For preps, it can be daunting going from pass-fail to grades. More than that, it can be stressful for a lot of people who will miss the sun or who have H Block. So, these holiday traditions promote further connections. It’s not like, ‘Now that we all know each other, I’ll just talk to you when I see you.’ Instead, we are forced to actually meet together and it gives everyone something to look forward to.”
These different dorm traditions all have one thing in common: community. Each tradition acts as a way to bring the dorm together into a tight-knit group of people that care for one another. At Exeter, sometimes the long winter nights of studying physics problems can make you feel like you feel like an ornament without a tree to hang on, which is what makes traditions like these so important. Whether it’s proctors harmonizing to the tune of “All I Want For Christmas is You” or sneaking around to give your Secret Santa the best gift imaginable, all of these traditions bring the dorms, and therefore Exeter as a whole closer. So next year, when your proctor sends out a form asking you to sign up for angeling, maybe consider filling it out.
