Students decorate to celebrate holidays

By Rachel Green

Daily Staff Reporter

After LSA senior Chris Zann's landlord told him he couldn't hang Christmas lights outside of his house on McKinley Street, Zann decided to decorate his front yard for the holidays instead.

Zann said he worked hard Sunday night when he came back from Thanksgiving break.

"Last night I put up my nativity scene and somebody stole our baby Jesus," Zann said.

Despite vandalism, Zann said he will still decorate the interior of his house. "I'm not going to get home until late because of exams so I decided to bring the lights up here."

With the winter holiday season in swing, many students are bringing the seasonal festivities to campus.

In West Quad Residence Hall, many students have begun taking down their Halloween decorations and replacing them with winter holiday lights.

LSA freshman Nicole Roberts said she brought her mini-Christmas tree from home over break.

"This is my first Christmas away," Roberts said. "I'd miss the Christmas spirit if I didn't have a tree in my room."

While students on and off campus decorate their rooms and houses, many Ann Arbor business join in the festivities as well.

Gary Clark, manager of Van Boven, a men's clothing store in Nickel's Arcade, said his staff decorated the store's front window with red hanging bells on Thanksgiving day.

"It's a long-standing tradition and we don't like to break with tradition," Clark said. Van Boven has been in business for 80 years.

"We have a lot of respect for the holiday and for our customers," Clark said.

Also in Ann Arbor, the 2000 St. Nicholas Light Display at Domino's Farms opened Nov. 17 and will run through the end of the year.

More than 2 million lights decorate the indoor/outdoor display which includes a gingerbread village, a Victorian sleigh and a Celebration of Trees, as well as a walk-through replica of the town of Bethlehem.

Christy Dorer, director of events for Domino's Farms said this is 10th anniversary of the St. Nicholas Light Display, which benefits local charities.

"There are two major focuses of the show," Dorer said. "The first is putting the true meaning back into the holiday, that is the birth of Jesus. The second is giving back to charities and the community."

Dorer said donations made to the display go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and 30 other local charities in southeast Michigan.

"All of the charities are children or family-oriented," Dorer said.

In addition to money donations patrons of the display are asked to donate canned food to benefit Ann Arbor and Detroit food banks.

The St. Nicholas Light Display runs nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.