LINDA PUGA
campus editor
A brief history of the ugly sweater Christmas tradition
The history of the ugly Christmas sweater started in the 1980s.
The sweater is generally decorated in a tacky way with added embellish- ments and fun colors to make it the ugliest of all sweaters.
It is believed that ugly sweaters were created to be fashionable, but are now the opposite due to fluctuating fashion trends from decades ago, said inventions director Mary Bellis in a ThoughtCo article.
The first of its kind was called jingle bell sweaters. They were made in the 1980s when the idea first came about.
One of the first ugly sweater parties was hosted in Vancouver in 2002. The co-founders of the party, Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch continued this tradition with an annual party after that year.
They even trademarked the phrases “ugly Christmas sweater” and “ugly Christmas sweater party.”
What started as a fashion trend eventually grew into its holiday—December 18th is now known as National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.
This festive addition to the holidays has become widely known since then and continues to be a fun way to bring spirit to the season.
TR Campus is bringing this tradition to life at this semester’s Holiday Party for De-Stress Week on Dec. 9.
“The purpose of de-stress week is to take a moment away from the stress of finals and come celebrate all of the hard work the students have done over the semester,” said TR student Kaitlyn Moore, Student Govern- ment Association historian.
Students will get to participate in two sessions throughout the day to play games, listen to holiday music and engageing fellowship one last time, Moore said.
Moore gets to manage the entries for the Holiday Sweater contest that student organizations get to take part in.
After brainstorming at a meet- ing, Moore said the SGA officer team came up with the idea. Fellow campus organization Phi Theta Kappa will co-host the event and Bellevue University will sponsor one of the winning prizes.
The winners of the con- test will be announced at 5 p.m. this evening.
Join in on the fun this year and create your own ugo with your ugly sweater.
