'Tis the season for holidays...of light! In the tradition of world cultures celebrating this season of light, The Masters School Upper School held its annual Candlelight Concert on December 20, followed by a processional and candle-lighting ceremony outdoors.

The Masters School’s diverse student body represents many different religious backgrounds. “As the days get shorter and darkness grows, people around the world unite in celebrating the power of light,” explains world religions teacher Jane Rechtman. “The Hindu people celebrate Divali, the festival of lights…Jewish families light candles for Hanukkah…lights are up throughout the region in anticipation of Christmas…and African Americans are preparing for the festival of lights known as Kwanzaa.”

Lights and lighting candles are a central part of these celebrations. In recent years, the candles had disappeared from the School’s Candlelight Concert due to the risk of fire in the theater. This year, faculty decided to restore the tradition of lighting real candles (outdoors), as well as decorating the trees outside the theater with lights. Each class was assigned a tree to decorate: the freshmen tree is purple, sophomores’ blue, juniors’ white, and seniors’ gold. The faculty also has a small tree in multi-colored lights.

This year’s concert featured The Masters School Jazz Band, Jazz Ensemble, Dobbs 16 (an award-winning a capella pop group), and Glee Club. The concert concluded with the entire school singing the round "Shalom Chaverim,” whose lyrics are “Peace go with you until we meet again.” After the concert, students, parents, and faculty assembled in the circle outside the theater with candles to light up the night--and the season of holidays.

“Two central themes run through many of the world’s winter religious holidays—light and giving,” notes history teacher Matt Ives. To celebrate giving, MISH (Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping) organized a toy drive. Each advisee group (six students and one teacher) was responsible for buying a gift for students at Children’s Village, the Andrus Children’s Center, or the children of inmates at the Bedford Correctional Facility.