The BYU–Hawaii annual Christmas tree lighting, held this year on Dec. 9, brought the community together with performances by students of Laie Elementary School full of the Christmas spirit.
“The kids are so full of talent and are ready to share it at any given moment,” said Lanett Ho Ching, Laie Elementary School music teacher.
Ho Ching added, “They’re such enthusiastic children.”
The Christmas tree lighting program was titled “What Christmas Means to Me.” Between performances from the children, videos of students explaining what Christmas meant to them were shown on the Cannon Activities Center screen. The answers ranged from Christ and family to joy over presents and visits from Santa.
The background behind the risers on the floor of the CAC where some students stood to sing was covered with the artwork of the children, each piece being a drawn depiction of the theme.
All of the grades from pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade, as well as the teachers, performed a Christmas song and dance they had been working on since October. Ho Ching said they worked on the program primarily in music class, which they attend for a half an hour every week.
Along with the video clips, the screen updated the audience on where Santa was as he came to Hawaii. The idea was that Santa was coming to Laie for the Christmas tree lighting, following the sound of the singing. The more the children sang, the closer Santa came. Most of the students had similar reactions to performing.
Thomas Strain, a fourth grader at Laie Elementary, said, “I was kind of scared, but once I started performing, it was easy.” Madison Lecour, a Laie Elementary second grader, stated she also felt a mix between nervousness and excitement.
Regardless, the parents were fond of the program. Rebekah Strain, the mother of Thomas Strain, talked about how Laie Elementary’s productions compares to other school’s programs. She said, “It’s always great watching performances with Laie Elementary because there’s so much animation. We’ve had a lot of other elementary school experiences, and they’re mellower. This is always very exciting because there’s a lot of involvement.”
Following the program, children and their parents were invited to the Aloha Center Ballroom where there were craft and bake sales, pictures with Santa, a “Despicable Me” minion, a nativity scene, and a movie. Families were also encouraged to take a look through the BYUH Bookstore for discounted merchandise.
Amanda Tice, the mother of fourth and second grade students at Laie Elementary, said she has attended the program for the past four years. She has seen it change over the years, and said, “This year was better because we could hear the kids singing more. It seemed as though the background singing was off, so you could actually hear their voices.”
Tice continued, “Almost all of the kids were participating this year instead of just a few dancing in the front.”
Tice expressed her thanks to BYUH for working with Laie Elementary to help make evenings like the Christmas tree lighting celebration possible.