Gingerbread-Time of Year

Last week on Friday night I attended a gingerbread house competition and holiday lights display at Sigma Nu Fraternity House. Sigma Nu is located on University Park campus at three hundred forty North Burrowes Street. It is one of four fraternities, others being Fiji, Alpha Zeta, and Beta Theta Pi, located on campus. There are currently sixty-one fraternities at this college. Sigma Nu was chartered in 1908 and was the second fraternity at Penn State, behind Fiji.

The gingerbread house competition takes place every year. Its location rotates annually between the four on campus fraternity houses. How the competition works is that every fraternity that has a house makes a replica of it in gingerbread form. The houses typically create the pieces about a week in advance and bring them to the hosting house the night before the competition. The event was open to all Penn State students and faculty as well as the local community. Beta Theta Pi won the gingerbread house competition and Sigma Nu came in second place.

 Front-view of Sigma Nu gingerbread house

Back-view of Sigma Nu gingerbread house

 Front-view of winning Beta Theta Pi gingerbread house

In addition to the gingerbread houses on the inside, Sigma Nu was also showcasing their holiday lights on the outside. At Christmastime, every fraternity decorates their house with lights and other decorations. Sigma Nu had just completed their decorations when the competition started to begin.

 Straight-on view of Sigma Nu house

 Angle-view of Sigma Nu house

 Angle-view of Sigma Nu house