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Christmas in Rexburg year-round, through the Spirit of Ricks

Brad Jackman JAC01016@BYUI.EDU scroll staff

Don’t mind the snow or sub-zero temperatures. December is one of the best months of the year. The holidays are here, and in addition to putting on weight, buying gifts and taking finals comes the Spirit of Christmas.

For some reason it hits people for only a few weeks: the giving, smiling, happy, caring and considerate feeling that accompanies Christmas. For many, the feeling lasts primarily between the post-Thanksgiving dinner nap and taking down the Christmas tree. The rest of the year is spent waiting for this time, with everyone wondering why people can’t be happy and celebrate Christmas year-round.

Here’s the big secret — there is a little place that celebrates the Spirit of Christmas in every season: Rexburg. More particularly, BYU-Idaho. Sure, the Christmas decorations go up and come down in Rexburg just like they do everywhere else, but BYU-I has something special. For more than 100 years, Rexburg has been the home of the Spirit of Ricks. 

The Spirit of Ricks and the Spirit of Christmas are very similar. They induce many of the same emotions and feelings. Luckily, the Spirit of Ricks provides these benefits year-round. Service organizations run fully staffed by students, the Student Legacy Endowment allows students to help other students financially and Home Evening sisters provide baked goods year-round. 

The Spirit of Ricks and Christmas go deeper than just fruitcakes and presents, though. There’s a real change of heart that they bring, if people let it happen. As Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol shows, even the hardest heart can be softened by a little love, kindness and the Christmas spirit. In Rexburg, the Spirit of Ricks can turn hearts to Christ, build testimonies and train disciples. There’s so much more to the Spirit of Ricks than friendly faces. It’s the friendly hearts that accompany them that make this a special place.

Truthfully, the Spirit of Ricks and the Spirit of Christmas are more than cousins. Their identity is one and the same: the Spirit of the Lord. True, we may assign different names to the way it affects us or the times and seasons we feel it most, but the good feelings and the inner peace come from somewhere a lot bigger and brighter than Rexburg or the North Pole. 

The secret we keep in Rexburg should not be a secret any longer. This week BYU-I will send out a missionary force of more than 11,000 to return to homes and neighborhoods across the world. 

Students and faculty can be missionaries of goodwill and peace, bringing the Spirit of Ricks to people whose holidays need a little more cheer. 

This Christmas, make sure that you don’t leave the Spirit of Ricks in Rexburg. Spread joy, serve, smile, give, love and share. When people ask why you’re so happy, use any name you like: I choose to call it the Spirit of Ricksmas.