The university is getting into the holiday spirit with the arrival of the annual Christmas tree that was set up in the Campus Commons on Monday, Nov. 21.
The tree, along with the rest of the campus, was decorated over Thanksgiving break to get ready for the Christmas Tree Lighting today.
The story of this year’s tree began in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the beginning of the school year.
The tree, which costs between $15,000 to $20,000, is usually cut down sometime in August or September, said Student Activities and Marketing Coordinator Brad Thompson. It is then submerged in Lake Michigan, where it soaks for a couple of months. The tree is delivered to Texas on a truck, but inclement weather often delays its arrival, Thompson said.
The tree, cannot be lifted into a tree stand like standard Christmas trees in many students’ homes.
“The only way to get it into the Commons is to use a crane,” he said. “It’s craned over the [Brown-Lupton University Union Auditorium] about 200 feet in the air and dropped right down where it goes into a tree stand that weighs about 4 tons.”
Over the years, the TCU Christmas tree has had an average height of 42 feet, Thompson said.
“It reminds us of going home and just being around your family,” Alarius Kenneth Cooper, a senior religion major, said. “It’s also pretty awesome that it’s so big because you don’t have that at home.”
Not only is the tree bigger than the average household Christmas tree, it can also be put in the same category as the trees students see around town and in malls.
“We actually work with a company out of Dallas that does this kind of stuff for malls and for cities all across the country,” Thompson said.
Students are not the only ones who appreciate the sight of a Christmas tree on campus. Assistant Director of Student Activities Kim Turner said she enjoyed the tradition, too.
“The Christmas tree is a really unique thing that [the Student Government Association] provides back to the university as a gift to the community to celebrate the holiday season,” she said. “It’s really one of the biggest traditions at the university and probably one of the best times of the year.”
Christmas Tree Lighting
When: Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
Where: Campus Commons
All students are welcome to attend the annual Christmas Tree Lighting.