Christmas on 5th signals the start of #BaylorChristmas

When there are camels and kangaroos on campus, a Christmas tree lighting and concerts, you know it must be Christmas on 5th Street, the official kickoff to the Christmas season at Baylor.

The much-loved Baylor tradition was renewed Thursday night, with thousands of members of the Baylor family coming together to pause from the busy-ness of a semester’s end and enjoy the start of the Christmas season. The culmination of Christmas on 5th, as always, was the annual KOT Christmas Tree lighting and concert, but many events throughout the afternoon and evening helped set the stage for the hallmark events.

[SEE photos from Christmas on 5th Street 2016]

Festivities kicked off mid-afternoon with a Christmas marketplace inside the Bill Daniel Student Center featuring locally produced goods. Outside the SUB, attendees enjoyed the popular petting zoo (which featured a kangaroo, an alpaca, and more), campus carriage rides, Christmas trees decorated by student organizations, Christmas concerts from a number of student choirs and bands, Santa Claus, and the traditional live nativity scene. A green-lit Rosenbalm Fountain, surrounded by trees bathed in red and green light, helped set the Christmas scene around it all. The KOT Christmas Tree Lighting in Burleson Quadrangle and a concert in Waco Hall featuring Texas country artist Cory Morrow capped off the night.

Each year, the evening is a chance for students to take a break from the demands of academics and jobs and feel some Christmas spirit. But it’s also about community — students, faculty, staff and even residents from the Waco area who may not have ties to Baylor coming together to have fun and remember the meaning of the season we celebrate.

Sic ’em, Christmas on 5th Street!