March 6, 2026
An image showing the Christmas Wreath, placed on the Multimedia Classroom building.

The Christmas Wreath that WSU Vancouver annually places on the VMMC building in the holiday season. (D Turk / VanCougar)

The Tradition of the Annual Christmas Wreath at WSU Vancouver

In celebration of the holidays, the WSU Vancouver Facilities Operations department has installed a Christmas wreath over the glass wall of the Multimedia Classroom Building (VMMC), a tradition they do every year for the holiday season.

The Operations Director Dennis Giles said getting the wreath up is a group effort between grounds people and mechanics.

“It’s definitely a group effort to get that [up] in time and plugged in and looking nice,” Giles said.

The origins of this tradition is unclear. Giles said the wreath is not an executive decision that comes from the WSU Vancouver administration, rather it is a tradition that started from a prior group of grounds people that has stayed for roughly 20 years.

While the symbol of the Christmas wreath does have more direct connections to Christianity, the intention of placing it on the VMMC building isn’t meant to be non-inclusive. Giles said they haven’t had any complaints in the past, so they keep putting the wreath up each year.

“There’s other religions that have holidays around this time of year, and the wreath to me is a unity thing, like a ring,” Giles said.

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