Recently, the annual Christmas Festival put on by St. Olaf College has been criticized by students and liberal activists who claim that the event is divisive and makes minorities feel unwelcome. Students have also said that it poses many inconveniences for those on the St. Olaf Campus, which include long lines to get into the cafeteria, weird food that sometimes smells bad, changes in shuttle bus schedules and crowds of stuffy old people. While I completely understand why people might hold these opinions, I believe that the St. Olaf Christmas Festival is a wonderful expression of the holiday season's joyful and "festive" nature. It's a spiritually fulfilling ceremony complete with dazzling music and a showcase of amazing musical talent.

First of all, Christmas Fest is an amazing way to get people around the country familiar with St. Olaf. We are a small liberal arts college located on the prairies of southern Minnesota; we are not that well-known. People around the world have the opportunity to watch our Christmas concert and discover our amazing school. Hopefully, the watchers would be much more inclined to send their kids here, as a result. It also is a great source of revenue for the college and it's stupendous music department. Every dollar earned from the ticket sales goes to funding college scholarships, the choir events, and to the music department, a lot of amazing causes if you ask me.

Christmas Fest also serves as an opportunity to exhibit wonderful talent among our school's musicians. Due to the choir's incredibly high standards, you need to be among the best singers to be a part of it and we can say the same thing for the St. Olaf orchestra. Everyone involved pours their heart and soul into this concert and all of its preparation. So much so, that they put their entire lives on hold to make sure that they put on the best show that they can. As a result, they sure seem like professionals when they come together for Christmas Fest, even though the students aren't professional musicians. To call the concert "divisive" or to otherwise complain about it is not only an insult to the college's amazing music department, it also insults all of the passionate student musicians who strive to show the world their talent and love of musical expression.

Then there is the concert itself. The choir directors do a great job at trying to incorporate new types of holiday music into the repertoire. In addition to a few of the tried and true Christmas classics, the choir also sings a variety of multicultural songs from all over the world, including African American Spirituals, Latin American hymns and even one or two songs from China. To call the concert racially divisive is not only insulting, but majorly inaccurate.

As for the problems that Oles have to deal with during Christmas Fest weekend, I agree that they are annoying, but they are minor inconveniences at the worst. If you do not like the fancy food (e.g. Lutefisk) that the cafeteria serves, there are two other great places on campus to get food you want to eat. It might even be a great time to try something new! One can easily work around all the crowds that come to campus. Lastly, keep in mind that the "craziness" spans just one weekend a year, not a terrible price to pay for the students. Therefore, I would be inclined to designate those inconveniences as first-world problems.

Lastly, I think that Christmas Fest is a wonderful way to celebrate the feelings of joy that the holiday season brings. It brings people together to sing and rejoice in the feelings of hope and anticipation of the new year. That is why, Christmas Fest season is my favorite time on the St. Olaf campus.