With Christmas lights twinkling against the night sky, Missouri Southern ushered in the holiday season with its annual Southern Lights ceremony Wednesday.

It was a night full of joy and cheer. Families, staff and students made arts and crafts, drank hot cocoa, ate popcorn, listened to Christmas songs and took rides in a horse-drawn carriage. Southern lit up the Christmas decorations surrounding the veterans monument that was unveiled earlier this semester.

Southern Lights is directed by Kelly Wilson, director of ACTS. Wilson was pleased with how the event transpired.

“It’s a time for our college community to gather; it’s a time to get rid of stress,” she said. “This is our seventh annual event and it just keeps getting better and better.”

The carriage rides were a hit for many of the people in attendance. The carriage would come to a stop in front of a long line and children’s faces would light up.

The children weren’t the only ones to enjoy the night, however.

Zack Smith and Kat Hagen are Southern students who attended Southern Lights. Equipped with red and green Santa hats, the two participated in many of the activities being held.

“I enjoy coming to campus lights because it’s always good to see a campus full of Christmas spirit,” said Smith. “I plan on riding on the carriage, having a great time, drinking hot chocolate and eating candy canes.”

Hagen  agreed.

“Tonight, I plan on drinking hot chocolate and having a good time,” she said. “I like doing this kind of stuff because I really love Christmas and with everything being so festive it makes it that much better.”

“I think it’s something people can look forward to,” Wilson said. “It’s a nice little break from the day where we can just enjoy being a family.”

The night concluded with the lighting of the Christmas tree. Dr. Alan Marble, interim University president, counted the crowd down from 10 and the tree was lit. Wilson then led the crowd in the singing of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

“This event was started by Terri Agee who was serving as interim president at the time,” Wilson said. “Our president had stepped down and we needed to find some happiness, so we decided to light up the campus. I just emailed her the other day and thanked her for her vision, because it’s something that we still look forward to seven years [later].”