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Prince George, B.C. – Caroling, free pizza, back massages, games and prizes.

All of this and more at a Christmas stress busting event at the College of New Caledonia today.

Massage therapist Kathy Baker works on 2nd year student Emily Carter

“We’re just recognizing the reason why we’re here,” says president Henry Reiser. “The reason why we’re here is our students and it’s an opportunity for them to sort of decompress a little bit, enjoy some free time and celebrate with their colleagues.”

He adds it’s also a chance for the school’s international students to see how Christmas is celebrated in Canada.

“Well yeah, because they don’t celebrate Christmas like we do,” says Reiser. “So we celebrated Diwali, which is the equivalent of Christmas for our Indian students and now they get a chance to celebrate a western kind of Christmas.”

Events coordinator Monica Costley says organizing the event was a collaborative affair in which the Faculty Association donated the pizza, the Students Union the pop, and CUPE the mandarin oranges.

She says there’s also a giving component to today’s activities with various departments within the school putting up a tree with a basket underneath.

“So you can come down and vote on your favourite tree by giving a non-perishable food item and then we tally it all up and see which group is the most giving group at CNC.”