There’s still a little time before Bryant’s annual Festival of Lights begins but Hanah Pourmousa ’27 and her friends have staked out their spot. Looking down from the second floor of the university’s rotunda, candles clutched tightly in their hands, they have a perfect view of the celebration below them — a holiday gathering promising festive cheer and meaningful reflection.

“This is my favorite thing at Bryant,” Pourmousa told her group happily. “It’s such a wonderful way to spend time with your friends and kickstart the holidays.”

A student passing by, though, has not yet heard the good word, and asks Pourmousa and her friends what’s brought everyone together.

“It’s the Festival of Lights!” they explain to her joyfully. Intrigued, the newcomer takes her own place at the Rotunda railing in anticipation.

Organized by the Bryant University Student Alumni Association, the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement, Campus Ministry and the Office of Student Activities, the Festival of Lights is one of Bryant University’s oldest and most beloved traditions, now in its 48th year.

“Tonight, we gather to honor the belief that we are both one and many,” noted Talia Slavin ’25, ’26MBA, the Student Alumni Association’s vice president of public relations, in her opening remarks. “We come together to learn about the diverse traditions within our community and to support one another in our shared and individual faiths.”

Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., noted that some of his favorite memories centered around celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah growing up.

“When I reflect on the broader meaning of these two holidays, I see how their light — both literal and symbolic — brings people together,” he said. “For my family and many others, the overlap of these traditions has been a way to honor shared values while celebrating the richness of their differences.”

This year, The Bottomline, Bryant’s acapella group, sang the classic “Carol of the Bells” as part of the festival. “It’s an honor to be part of it,” said the club’s president Leo Donnelly ’26. “This is something that means so much to so many people.”

Alumna Joan Wyzukovicz '90, P’25, P’26MBA returned to campus to celebrate with both her mother and daughter. That’s one of the reasons the event is so special, she notes; it helps to bring together members of the Bryant community from across generations.

In addition to an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company, the festival also offers the community a chance to learn from one another, suggested Veronica McComb, Ph.D., dean of Bryant’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Everyone brings a different perspective to the festival, and I think there’s something beautiful in that.”

There’s a special joy in sharing a piece of yourself, agreed Alaiza Irani ’24, ’25 MBA, who came to Bryant from Mumbai, India, and lit a diya lamp, representing the triumph of good over evil, to honor Diwali as part of the ceremony. “It touches my heart,” she said, to celebrate her traditions with her home away from home.

Among the many candles lit honoring global traditions, a special flame, celebrating unity at Bryant, was sparked by Bryant’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer Rupendra Paliwal, Ph.D. The Festival of Lights, he told the audience, was “a powerful reminder of how Bryant is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone, where everyone can feel value, respected, and that they truly belong here.

“Let's recommit ourselves to making Bryant a place where diversity is not just something we accept, but something we celebrate,” Paliwal encouraged. “Let's see our differences as our strengths.”

The festival concluded with the Bryant community, led by Gittell, igniting their own individual candles by sharing the flickering light with one another. As Janell Gamboa ’25 and Corinne Gbalekuma-Hubbard ’26 sang “Silent Night,” the crowd watched the reflection of the lights twinkled and danced together in the rotunda’s glass dome.

There could be no better way to end the ceremony, reflected Sean McCarthy ’26. “You begin to understand how you’re one little piece of something much bigger,” he said.

The Festival of Lights capped a day of holiday activities. Below are some of the special moments from this year’s celebration: