Christmas postcards from a distant past

To the Editor:

There is a special place where the Magic of Swarthmore meets the Magic of Christmas.

Every other year, in our small college town tucked away at the southern end of Delaware County, anonymous members of the Swarthmore community produce, fund, and perform the Pageant of the Nativity the Saturday before Christmas in the Lang Music Building on the Swarthmore College campus.

This sacred Yuletide tradition started some 40 years ago. Having grown up in Swarthmore and returned to raise my own family here, I have seen many of these serene performances. Every time, the pageant makes Christmas feel so much more special. The evergreen perfume emanating from the 20-plus Christmas trees lining the concert hall galvanizes the Christmas spirit in even the grinchiest of grinches. The large and talented choir serenades the audience with a joyous Christmas repertoire. At the same time, the quiet, soothing serenity of the performance pulls one away from the seasonal hustle-and-bustle. The Magic of Christmas — in the splendor of its purest simplicity — is there.

And so is the Magic of Swarthmore. Above all, it has always been the anonymous participation of our community that has struck me as quintessentially Swarthmore. The pageant participants span Swarthmore’s many generations. The pageant is performed as a series of vignettes. They look like postcards sent to us from far away, from a distant past. Similarly, the pageant costumes, which have been reused every year since its inception, are Christmas cards that celebrate the ordination of the Swarthmore nativity.

If you wish to find where the Magic of Christmas meets the Magic of Swarthmore, you’ll find it at the Swarthmore Christmas pageant at Lang once again this year. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

Maresa Torregrossa Mahoney
Swarthmore