Pitt Nationality Rooms to Be Decorated for Holiday Season Nov. 10

PITTSBURGH—Beginning at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 10, nearly 100 members of the University of Pittsburgh's 26 Nationality Room committees will decorate their rooms in traditional holiday grandeur, displaying various holiday customs from around the world.

Each year, the rooms that encircle the Cathedral of Learning's Commons Room, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland, are trimmed to reflect their ethnic heritage, including such decorations as Lithuanian geometric straw ornaments, Polish paper cutouts, German gingerbread cookies, a French crèche, and a hand-carved Austrian manger scene.

Guides will adapt their daily presentations to include descriptions of holiday traditions celebrated throughout the world during tours, which run from Nov. 11 through Jan 18. The rooms are closed Dec. 24, 25, and 26, 2007, and Jan. 1, 2008. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children ages eight to 18. Children under eight are admitted free. For the complete tour schedule, visit www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/pages/holiday_info.html.

The Holiday Open House, an annual event to showcase the decorated rooms, is scheduled from noon until 4 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Commons Rooms. The event is free. There will be traditional holiday performances every 15 minutes, as well as ethnic foods and crafts for sale.

For more information, call 412-624-6000 or visit www.pitt.edu/~natrooms.

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