2020 Virtual Holiday Open House

A Treasured University of Pittsburgh Tradition: the Nationality Rooms Programs host the 2020 Holiday Open House

This year’s 2020 Virtual Holiday Open House will kick off on Sunday, Dec. 6 with a montage of our past celebrations and a schedule of festivities which will get you in the holiday spirit. Travel through all 31 Nationality Rooms and learn about each country’s holiday traditions with Quo Vadis tour guides. The format consists of user-created videos and/or live virtual events calling attention to the many Nationality Rooms’ cultures presented by the Committees associated with them. Learn about Diwali, Polish paper cutting, traditional Norwegian lefse -hear some English Christmas poems- experience the Lithuanian Kucios- watch a variety of ethnic cooking demonstrations, and so much more. We hope you enjoy our Holiday Open House presentation and we thank you for your continued support of the Nationality Rooms Programs!

Donate to the Nationality Rooms

View the program schedule below and click on the appropriate date to view the videos:

December 6th Virtual Holiday Open House Kickoff Happy Holidays! Welcome to our 29th annual Holiday Open House and our first virtual Holiday Open House event! Throughout the next two weeks, our Quo Vadis guides and Nationality Rooms Committees will share holiday tours, crafts, recipes, traditions, and more!
December 7th Winter Holiday Traditions
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Most of us celebrate holiday traditions passed down from our parents. These traditions nurture us and become an essential part of who we are. As part of this year's Holiday Open House, we present to you a few of the holiday traditions which the Nationality Room Committees have shared.
December 8th Cultural Performances
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Each year we highlight traditional dances and songs at the Holiday Open House. Music is a big component of the festivities. It makes us happy and joyous and connects us with our heritage.
December 9th Winter Holiday Recipes
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Join our Nationality Room Committees as they share their favorite recipes for the holiday and everyday life! Immigrants bring their foods with them from their countries so they can feel at home. It is an expression of their identity.
December 10th Holiday Crafts
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Many cultures share some similarities in their holiday crafts, but each culture put their own, unique stamp in their traditional craft. These crafts make for a festive holiday!
December 11th Winter Holiday Traditions
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Most of us celebrate holiday traditions passed down from our parents. These traditions nurture us and become an essential part of who we are. As part of this year's Holiday Open House, we present to you a few of the holiday traditions which the Nationality Room Committees have shared.
December 12th Winter Holiday Recipes
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Turkish Quiz Show, 7PMET
 Join our Nationality Room Committees as they share their favorite recipes for the holiday and everyday life. Immigrants bring their foods with them from their countries so they can feel at home. It is an expression of their identity.
December 13th Winter Holiday Traditions
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Most of us celebrate holiday traditions passed down from our parents. These traditions nurture us and become an essential part of who we are. As part of this year's Holiday Open House, we present to you a few of the holiday traditions which the Nationality Room Committees have shared.
December 14th Cultural Performances
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Each year we highlight traditional dances and songs at the Holiday Open House. Music is a big component of the festivities. It makes us happy and joyous and connects us with our heritage.
December 15th Ornamentation
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
The countries represented by the Nationality Rooms have unique ways of decorating for the holidays. Enjoy some of the ornaments, nativities, and tree decorating traditions our committees have to offer.
December 16th Scenes from Abroad
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Take the time to enjoy these breath-taking sceneries from countries where our Nationality Room Committees come from.
December 17th Winter Holiday Traditions
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Most of us celebrate holiday traditions passed down from our parents. These traditions nurture us and become an essential part of who we are. As part of this year's Holiday Open House, we present to you a few of the holiday traditions which the Nationality Room Committees have shared.
December 18th Cultural Performances
12 Days of Greek Christmas Trivia Game
Turkish Trivia Night for Students, 7PMET
Each year we highlight traditional dances and songs at the Holiday Open House. Music is a big component of the festivities. It makes us happy and joyous and connects us with our heritage.


Acknowledgements

As we celebrate the Nationality Rooms Programs’ 2020 Holiday Open House, we are thankful and honored by the contributions that our Nationality Room Committees have made to make this year’s event truly special.  In spite of the hardships of Covid, the Nationality Room Committees and friends, have made a herculean effort to assemble the best representation of their holiday traditions through music, food, art, crafts, storytelling, poetry, and cultural programs. Each of the Committees have put forth a uniquely, impressive presentation of what holiday means to them. As we close out the year 2020, we look forward to celebrating the Nationality Rooms Programs 95th year anniversary. Thank you to our Nationality Rooms and Heritage Committees! 

Our audience should know that dedicated and creative Quo Vadis guides, who are undergraduate students, gave up much time and worked within the rules of how campus must operate during a pandemic, sometimes coming in the evenings and weekends to make many scenes in production of thirty one videos describing all the Nationality Rooms. They are proud of their videos and it was a pleasure to have made these for all of you to enjoy. Please consider supporting Quo Vadis' creative efforts to provide this tourism to the public and find the donate option available for your use at anytime. 

A note of much appreciation to our colleagues at UCIS and our videographer who helped the Nationality Rooms Programs put forward a successful 2020 Holiday Open House: 

Tricia McGough 
Karen Lue 
Mark Weixel 
Milan Bizic