Thanksgiving has passed, and it’s time to ring in the holiday season!
No matter what holiday you celebrate, there’s plenty of fun activities to do in and around Athens. Here are five ways to make the most out of the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Athena Holiday Film Series
Sponsored by Athena Cinema, Arts for Ohio, the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and the Athens Uptown Business Association – the Athena Holiday Film Series is an excellent way to enjoy holiday festivities.
Everyone loves classic holiday films, and the Athena Cinema, located at 20 S. Court St., never fails to provide. For the past decade, the theater runs a series showcasing classic holiday films on the big screen.
Past showings include movies like Polar Express, Elf and even E.T.
On top of making your own holiday season a bit merrier, attending the series will bring holiday cheer to others, too. That’s because the price of admission to each show is a canned good or a cash donation to local food pantries!
In previous years, the series began about a week after Thanksgiving and ended a few days before Christmas.
For dates and times regarding this year’s series, head over to the Athena’s website:
http://athenacinema.com/holidayseries/
2. Santa Fest
Usually occurring the weekend before finals week, Santa Fest is a fun way to get festive before beginning the gauntlet of exams.
The premise is simple, on the Saturday before finals, the bars in Athens all play Christmas music, and students dress up in their finest ugly Christmas sweater.
More information about the festivities can be found here:
https://twitter.com/SantaFestOU
As always, please drink responsibly, stick with a buddy and have fun!
3. Give gifts to friends
Why wait till you head home for Winter Break to start your Christmas shopping? Athens has plenty of great options for gifting your loved ones, whether mom, dad, brother, sister or significant other. You’ll also help the local Athens economy by doing some of your holiday shopping here.
If any of your family or friends whom you plan to shop for has a soft spot in their heart for Athens or Ohio University, there’s unlimited options for Athens/OU swag. Among other choices uptown you’ve got the venerable College Book Store (at Court and Union) and Ohio Is Home, located at 43 S. Court St., a stone’s throw away from the CBS. Ohio Is Home has lots of potential gift material, with both OU and Athens connections.
Down Court Street on the right is UniversiTEES, 30 N. Court St., with an abundance of Ohio University clothing and other goods.
The Bobcat Store, in McKee House at 44 University Terrace, has a wide selection of OHIO gear and swag, all appropriately licensed. They’ve got everything from hoodies to water bottles to key chains to golf balls, all with the official OHIO logos.
4. Uptown for the Holidays
Every year, Santa comes to town.
In early December, Athens begins to put on a wide variety of events in and around Court Street. Events include horse drawn wagon rides, family story time, ornament decorating and getting to meet the big man, Santa, himself.
Last year, most events happened on Thursdays and Saturdays.
5. There’s more than just Christmas
Around Christmastime, several other holidays take place, too.
If you’re looking to branch out and experience other cultures and events, there are plenty of opportunities to do so.
First, there’s Hanukkah. Menorahs, latkes, dreidels and chocolate gelt for eight days. What is there not to love?
Chabad, a Jewish center for OU students on Court Street, usually puts on a public Menorah lighting outside Baker Center.
“The whole purpose of lighting the menorah is to publicize the story of Hanukkah, which is why many Jewish people have the custom to light their menorahs outside or by a window so everyone could see. The more people that see and participate in lighting the menorah, the more you have tapped into the purpose of the menorah in the first place,” Levi Raichik, the Rabbi at Chabad, said in a Post article last year.
This year, Hanukkah falls between Dec. 18 and Dec. 26.
Once Hanukkah ends, a new holiday, Kwanzaa, begins.
Kwanzaa is based on the first fruit celebrations of Africa and was created to bolster seven values of African culture:
- Unity
- Self-determination
- Collective Work and Responsibility
- Cooperative Economics
- Purpose
- Creativity
- Faith
Since nearly all students are home for Winter Break during the holiday (Dec. 26 – Jan. 1), OU puts on a “Pre-Kwanzaa” celebration, usually in early December.
Click here for more information.
No matter what or how you celebrate, Athens provides tons of outlets for you to enjoy this holiday season. So, spread the love and have fun, happy holidays!