This year, the MBU family departed early for an extended winter break due to the pandemic. In the absence of in-person events to celebrate the season on campus, here’s a look through some scenes of holidays past — from a snow day in 1905 to Christmas Cheer dinners in the 1980s to last year’s Kwanzaa.
The MBU spirit can brighten even the grayest of winter days. Here’s to safe and happy holidays for all students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends.
All photos are archival and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The YWCA student organization’s Christmas pageant in 1923
The YWCA Christmas tree in 1930
Christmas caroling in 1942
Snowball fight in 1964 between Mary Baldwin students and Staunton Military Academy (SMA) cadets. SMA was located on what is now MBU’s upper campus.
Mary Baldwin student with date in 1965 (left), and decorating the tree in 1967 (right)
Students in the snow during the 1970s (1973, left, and 1976, right)
A Christmas party in 1982 (left two images); luminaries light the campus in 1984 for Christmas Cheer (right)
Christmas Cheer parties in the 1980s and ’90s
The choir performs for the Christmas Cheer service in First Presbyterian Church in 2010.
The Kwanzaa ceremony in 2014 in Hunt Dining Hall
The Kwanzaa ceremony in 2019 in the Student Activities Center
Scenes from the last two years of Christmas Cheer and the MBU tree lighting on Page Terrace
MBU celebrates Hanukkah with blue and white lights on Hunt Dining Hall in 2019.
The MBU Christmas tree lights up the night in 2018.