TOWAMENCIN- “Hey I saw your lightbulb in upstairs A-pod!”… the infamous paper lightbulbs are just one of the many holiday traditions at North Penn High School. From looking for their lightbulbs to wearing ugly sweaters, North Penn students are united by these school traditions.

Year after year, the festivities start about a week before Thanksgiving, when the cafeteria serves its annual Thanksgiving meal. Students come to lunch excited to eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course, pumpkin ice cream.

As Thanksgiving breaks comes to a close and the holiday season begins, SGA brings the holiday tree into the main lobby of the school. Everyday, students can see the tree as the walk into school and move from class to class. It is nicely decorated with lights and ornaments.

As winter break gets closer, the halls become magically transformed. SGA hangs up over 3,000 paper light bulbs throughout the building, each one containing the name of a student or staff member. In the week leading up to break, students and teachers try to find the lightbulb with their name on it, which can be a difficult task in such a large school. However, with the help of their classmates, everyone ends up finding theirs. This tradition has been going on as long as anyone can remember, well over 30 years. Many teachers even have a collection in their classroom of all the light bulbs they have received over the years.

“The tradition gets folks into the holiday spirit because it shows that everyone has a place here at North Penn. It’s great to see students (and staff!) roaming the halls looking for their name – it might take them to an area of the building they might not otherwise go to,” Mr. Berger, advisor of SGA, explained.

In addition, another popular tradition is ugly sweater day. As a great way to end the calendar year, it is usually held close to holiday break (this year on the 20th). Being one of the most participated in spirit days of the whole year, students come into school wearing the most obnoxious, ugly holiday sweaters that they can find. Some students get very creative with sweaters that can light up or sing or by adding the touch of colorful holiday socks.

While the school weeks leading up to break can be stressful with due dates and tests, North Penn is still full of holiday spirit. With these yearly traditions, students and staff members get excited for the approaching holidays and winter break.