Christmas Tree Sightings

As I sit listening to Christmas carols (because what is December but the month for listening to obscene amounts of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole), I am astounded by the current lack of snow outside my window. Global warming, anyone?

But regardless of the snow or lack thereof, there are still CHRISTMAS TREES everywhere! As a Catholic college, Saint Mike's is free to decorate with as much as pine and red ribbon as is deemed necessary. We may not push Catholicism, but it's sort of hard to ignore at Christmastime, especially since the chapel bells ring at random times (That are probably on a set schedule I can't figure out) and have switched to Advent tunes. Therefore, I have decided to regale you with all of the Christmas trees I have seen on campus, excluding repeats and including the two I saw in Burlington last night. Without further ado, the Saint Mike's trees: 

This is my baby purple tinsel tree, which I am very proud of, even though it is barely two feet tall. There is a very convenient overlap when your favorite color and your school color are the same.

Please excuse the blurry picture - night photography is not my specialty. This is the only outdoor tree I saw; it is a massive fir (pine?) tree next to the chapel that I am presuming can be seen from the street.

I found this small tree, decked out in the French colors, hanging out in the building where the French professors have their offices. 

A version of this tree is on both the second and third floors of Dion - if you cannot see, there are a lovely angel at the top and some pretty, festively colored ornaments.

This lovely specimen can be found on the first floor of the Dion Student Center, across from Einstein's. In addition to a snazzy snowflake topper and the classic white lights with silver tinsel, there is a strand of paper cranes that are a nice, non-traditional touch. This was by far my favorite of the "school trees."

I was down in Burlington last night to celebrate a friend's birthday. If you have as yet not experienced a Burlington Christmas (not that I can say I truly have), that is something that is absolutely necessary. There are Christmas lights everywhere, but unlike most places, they actually suit Burlington; Church Street looks like something out of a movie.

The other end of Church Street has a very tall Christmas tree, probably about the same size as the one by the chapel at Saint Mike's, which contributes to my "I live in a postcard" mentality:

My final tree was in Sweetwater's, which is a very reasonably priced restaurant that has a wide variety of options to suit all tastes and diets. They also have a bar, but I am unqualified to comment on that for several years. I ate there last night, in their elevated seating (that could probably also be termed a loft), and to our delight, there was a Christmas tree across from our table! If you are wondering about the Vermont seal behind the tree, that is leftover decoration from when the building was (according to a little research on my part) the Burlington Trust Company: a bank. Much of the original decor remains, although there have been significant updates. Definitely check out Sweetwater's!

This is my last post until the new year; next week is finals week so I will not be doing much other than studying, and after that I will be HOME for an entire MONTH!!! I leave you with this festive image, courtesy of the local bus system: 

Until 2016,

Laura