The Things We Keep
Some Ormond traditions are centuries old, others started last semester – but all of them say something about who we are and how we stay connected.
Thursday 17 October 2024 • 5 minute read
Every college has its mythsAt Ormond, the myths aren’t carved in stone – they’re passed around at dinner, whispered to first-years, and laughed about until they become part of the furniture. Everyone knows at least a few: the origin of the bell, the stories behind the gables, the reason people cheer at oddly specific moments in Formal Hall. Half the fun is that no one can tell where truth ends and legend begins.These small rituals give the College its personality. They remind everyone that tradition doesn’t have to be serious to be meaningful.
Rituals in motionThe best-known traditions still anchor the year – the gowns and candles of Formal Hall, the chaos of O-Week, the Ball, Ski Week, and the impromptu performances that appear whenever someone finds a microphone. But between those headline moments are dozens of quieter customs that never make the calendar: a Friday breakfast crew, an unofficial playlist, a group that insists on morning swims no matter the weather.Tradition here isn’t about preserving the past – it’s about building habits of joy and connection that carry through generations.Invented yesterday, remembered tomorrowEvery cohort adds something new. A chant that starts as a joke becomes standard. A themed dinner turns into an annual event. A prank graduates into folklore. The things students make up in the moment often outlast them, because they capture something true about the spirit of the place – playful, collective, slightly chaotic, and deeply proud.That’s what makes Ormond traditions different: they’re not imposed, they’re inherited by accident.Belonging by repetitionYou don’t realise you’ve become part of a tradition until you catch yourself doing it automatically – standing when the bell rings, passing plates in a particular order, chanting lines you didn’t know you knew. These small repetitions are how belonging happens. They turn a group of individuals into a community, one shared habit at a time.And when you leave, you carry some of those habits with you – a way of showing up, of caring, of taking part. The things you keep.
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