Each summer, sometime around July 10, (this year, it will be held July 7), the college gathers to share cake and punch in honor of the man who gave Calvin College its name. 

John Calvin's annual birthday celebration is a tradition dating back to 1982. One of the most anticipated aspects of the celebration is the appearance of John Calvin himself - or rather, a faculty or staff member selected to don a robe and hat and be Calvin. The identity of each year's Calvin is kept secret until he is revealed at the party, and so is the source of much speculation. "John Calvin" is also expected to give a two-minute lecture, in order to keep the college up to scratch on the great Reformer's thinking. 

One year, Calvin presented us with his plan to keep up with the times by re-branding his theology from TULIP to the much more appetizing BACON. Check out his ideas here.

Don't forget that Hekman Library has one of the most extensive collections of John Calvin-related materials in the world. The Meeter Center specializes in John Calvin, Calvinism, the Reformation, and the Early Modern period, and is located on the fourth floor of the library. 

 
John Calvin 2014 (Ryan Noppen)