More than 40 shivering students congregated in front of Curtiss Hall on Wednesday to experience this year’s iIllumination ceremony.

“WinterFest is a time to come together, no matter what background, and appreciate the diverse people here at Iowa State and appreciate the fact that, yes, we all have to live through the Iowa weather together,” said Maggie Luttrell, Government of the Student Body vice president and senior in history.

Students dressed in Santa hats and winter jackets were invited to sing along to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” led by the a cappella group All in Moderation. This led up to a speech by Luttrell, in which she invited students to “participate in as many WinterFest activities as sanely possible.”

Then it was time for the countdown. The crowd joined in: “Five, four, three, two, one.”

Suddenly, more than 100 runners donning jingle bells swept across Central Campus. In the background, a towering evergreen tree in front of Beardshear Hall was illuminated with hundreds of tiny purple lights, glistening off silver tinsel.

Afterward, students were quick to rush back to the warm indoors, perhaps thinking of Luttrell’s words.

“While I’m sure that the pressures of the ending of the semester are on every one of you,” Luttrell said, “the prospects of the end and break are near.”