Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Creighton Christmas Quiz
The quiz has now ended, but you can still see the questions and answers to find out more about how special the holiday season has been over the years for Creighton students, faculty and staff.
The ways we’ve celebrated Christmas together have evolved, but the spirit of the season has always endured.
Read up on Creighton’s Christmas history:
Answer: Food baskets. The newly formed Creighton Student Union raised money to fill 150 baskets with a 5-pound roast of beef, and one can each of corn, tomatoes and peaches. Plus, fruit, bread and candy.
Answer: 1984. Technically, Creighton did install a 20-foot pine Christmas tree on the St. John’s fountain in 1978. But 1984 was marked as the first official lighting ceremony. The event, which now includes the lighting of the Mall, celebrated 41 years on Tuesday Dec. 2, 2025.
Answer: False. That fictional prompt is very loosely based on the plot of “Home Alone.”
Answer: 635. It was a mild controversy and one that Creighton President Fr. John P. Schlegel, SJ, embraced when he shared his rationale during a Creightonian interview, when he jokingly referred to himself as the “Grinch.” For environmental reasons, it made the most sense to annually designate the tree outside of the Kiewit Fitness Center as the school’s official Christmas tree (instead of cutting down a new tree every year and installing it on the fountain or in front of Creighton Hall).
Answer: True. Somewhere there’s a campus Cindy Lou who deserves a thank you. Because a student did indeed steal the Christmas tree inside the student center — only to return it a few days later with an apology note that was signed by “a Creighton student with renewed holiday spirit.” Read more about the Grinch.
Answer: There was a film crew! For a two-minute scene in the made-for-TV movie “Gone in the Night,” Creighton’s campus served as a scene-setting backdrop. The movie starred Shannen Doherty and drew a national audience of 17 million when it debuted on CBS in 1996. Read more about the movie.
Answer: False. On Dec. 25, 1953, the Creighton men’s basketball team lost 92-61 at Seattle.
Answer: A basketball title! A trip to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four was also a common choice from survey respondents in our hypothetical Christmas wish list for Billy Bluejay. There was one request to transform Billy’s appearance back into a past (slightly scary) version of himself. We don’t advise asking Santa Claus for that. Read more about Billy Bluejay's history.
