Deck the Franco Center with Boughs of Holly!

Music and holiday decorations fill the campus for the traditional Yule Log ceremony.

Tis’ the season to be jolly.  In that spirit, this Thursday, December 8th, Miami Country Day will be hosting its annual Yule Log ceremony. This 32 year old tradition was started by then Head of the Upper School Virgil Rogers, who started this community event as a means of celebrating all religions and all ethnicities in one beautiful night.

This year the ceremony will take place in the Franco Center, culminating with a procession that goes into Primary Hall, where guests are greeted by Dr. Davies and his family and urged to throw a sprig of holly into the fireplace for good luck. Various different music selections will provide a soundtrack for the night, so you won’t be able to walk anywhere on campus without hearing some joyful music. The intermediate EBO will kick off the night at the ceremony itself with some holiday tunes, then there will be 5 sing along songs at the ceremony, but it doesn’t stop there.

After the procession, there will also be acoustic selections from members of the Contemporary Music Ensemble playing Christmas classics from “Winter Wonderland” to “Silent Night.”  Ms. Alfonso, the Director of the Fine Arts program, says this about her favorite part of the Yule Log Ceremony, “It’s this kind of low-key, family community event that people come just to share a nice moment of the season… It’s not a high pressure thing. It’s more to celebrate this time of year.”

Ms. Rosenfeld, who can recall missing only one of the Yule Log ceremonies in the 32 years that Miami Country Day School has been conducting the annual celebration, can’t stress enough what a great event it is.  She says, “Not every school gets this opportunity…We’re very lucky” that the ceremony was designed to include everyone… “It’s so personal.” She loves that this evening shows off our beautiful school both inside and out and she can’t wait to see how the Center for the Arts building will fit its way into this Miami Country Day School tradition.

While she recognizes, with a laugh, that, as a music teacher and a music lover, she may be biased, Ms. Alfonso nevertheless concludes that one of the reasons she loves this tradition the most is that “singing together is always fun.”  Of course, it’s always even more fun when there are more voices to come together, so make sure this Thursday to come out to this community event with your family and really start to enjoy this beautiful season.