The Library and Michael J. Spinelli Archives will spend the final two weeks of the fall semester with a look back on the ways students prepared for the holidays and final exams.
In the undated photo above, a beautiful window wreath surrounds the cheery faces of Plymouth State students. According to the Encyclopedia of Christmas and New Year’s Celebrations, no one knows the precise history of the wreath hanging custom during the holiday season. It may have grown out of the German tradition of the Advent wreath; still others say it may have derived from the funeral wreath hung on the door to indicate mourning.
Generations of Plymouth State students have hung wreaths to celebrate the season. Pictured below in another undated photo, are students from the newly renovated Mary Lyon Hall “decking the halls” with their own large wreath.
Thanks go to Archives staff, Alice Staples, Susan Jarosz, and intern, William Wood for sharing these photos.
