Christmas Fest is this huge celebration at St. Olaf. This four day long Christmas Festival includes the Choir concert, which is the main event, and Norwegian food in the cafe– shit like ham, fish jello (lutefisk), butter and cinnamon or brown sugar on potato tortillas (lefse), potatoes, carrots and peas, beets, and pork loins. Alumni and families of students all flock to the school which means that this already incredibly Scandinavian and White campus just got paler than Minnesota during a snowy January. Because of all of this, here is a list of reasons for why I hate Christmas Fest.
1. People stare at me like I'm an endangered species because I'm a Person of Color. You've seen that before haven't you? That "Wow, I didn't know you all were here," look that you expect to be done to Ginkgo trees not a person of color.
2. Those Norwegian Sweaters. They do nothing but establish a hierarchy to me. Maybe I'm just sensitive but every time I see them it's like people's way of saying "I'm supposed to be here. I can afford these $200 sweaters."
3. Older White people. They have always intimidated me but even more so when I'm on this Lily White college campus where I already feel alienated.
4. Older White people again. I always have to prepare myself for if they say something racist when they want to have small talk.
5. Young White people. If children are young enough, they stare at you like "Why do you look like that?" which is not an invalid question or even a mean one. The thought though comes from the fact that no one explained that people can look differently from them or that wherever they live just isn't diverse and they have no idea what to make of darker skin or different hair. It just re-affirms that our country is still so segregated. This is intensified by the fact that I'm also fat with colored hair. You can already see how intolerance is being passed down through lack of education.
6. White people in general. Suddenly, I'm aware of just how small I really am, and I'm even more self-conscious of what I'm wearing and saying. Suddenly, I have to censor myself. I hate that shit.
7. The food. Lefse aside (which has too many fucking stations in the cafe) this food is terrifying especially that fish jello and the beets. No fucking thank you. It probably wouldn't be so bad if the food didn't take over the entire cafe.
8. The crowds. Too many fucking people.
9. The Target Bus. The one of the few forms of transportation on and off campus changes its pick up and drop off stop to somewhere down the hill. I hate it. That hill is awful to walk up. I'm not doing that to myself. Fuck those stairs and that slope.
Bam! What do you guys hate about Christmas Fest?
