THE ATENEO community kick-started the Christmas season with sand, vintas and the Mayon Volcano in the launching of the Ateneo Christmas Parks 2012 last November 29.

The event included a lighting ceremony at the Church of the Gesu where Blue Symphony performed and a competition where participating groups from the Ateneo set up small parks depicting the Nativity.

Going by the tourism campaign “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” each park incorporated landmarks, products and themes from different regions. Stationed all over the campus, the parks used recyclable materials to be environmentally friendly.

University Communication and Public Relations Office Director Sonia Araneta said that the parks put emphasis on nation- and community-building, the mission and identity of the Ateneo and care for the environment.

“Hats off to the creativity and resourcefulness. It’s really more fun in the Ateneo Christmas,” she said.

This year’s competition encouraged more sectors to join, increasing the number of entries from nine to 16.

The Central Administration Group 2 was awarded first place with a P50,000 cash prize for its Bicol Region-inspired park.

The night was capped off with a series of Christmas songs rendered by the Ateneo College Glee Club and the Ateneo Chamber Singers, among others.

“Breaking barriers”

The whole event was premised on the bonding of the community. “This is a community-building event to get to know one another,” said University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ.

He noted that building a community paves the way for establishing a stronger sense of the mission and identity of the university.

Referring to the Christmas season, he added, “If it’s going to build a community, then it’s supposed to break the barriers that separate us because in a school, there’s a tendency to retreat to our own cubicles [and] to our own circles.”

“It takes a lot of energy also to forge that unity and to break down those barriers and I think that’s what Christmas is all about: breaking down the barriers that separate from each other and from God.”

He said that he thought when he first started this, Ateneans would find it “corny,” but he recognized their effort in taking on the challenge to build the parks.