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Archive: December, 2008

Marriott Center

One of the most used buildings on the campus of Brigham Young University is the Marriott Center. This multi-purpose building is the site of devotional and forum addresses, basketball and other indoor athletic contests, cultural performances, and convocations. President Ernest L. Wilkinson announced plans for building the Marriott Center in September 1968 and emphasized that …

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POW during Christmas

George Easton Brown (MSS 2350 no. 359) was a prisoner of war in Manchuria during the Christmas season of 1944.  He wrote the following about the experience: It was Christmas Eve, and we could cut the gloom that engulfed us with a knife.  What a way to spend Christmas Eve.  One man by the name …

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December Graduation and Commencement

Students at BYU graduate at three different times each year–April, August and December.  However, the university only celebrates Commencement in April and August.  Those who graduate in December may choose to walk in the Commencement ceremonies held in August or April but have no Commencement ceremony of their own. Commencement is an important part of …

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Charles Dickens’s holiday tales

As the holidays approach, many will celebrate this year by reading or viewing one of the numerous film or stage adaptations of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. While this tale has become a well-loved classic, Dickens’s other Christmas books are relatively unknown today. Dickens published these holiday tales in the 1840’s — a decade often …

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My Mother gives Us Pajamas for Christmas

Several years ago, I made a presentation about Christmas customs to an elementary school class. I asked how many of them received new pajamas for Christmas. Most of the hands went up. Then I asked how many got to open them on Christmas Eve. Most of the hands stayed up. We talked about why that …

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