Today Gabfest Club ("Window on America", Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine) had a Catholic Christmas session. The session was attended by our foreign guests Mr. Jason and Mr. Paul. The club members were happy to have such a pleasant Xmas surprise, especially the newcomers. As Mr. Paul is recently new to our Club we started the session with the introduction ritual during which the new-comers introduced themselves to the group, the Club’s committee was introduced and the history behind the Club’s name was explained.
The Xmas topic selected for the discussion was “Xmas Attributes in the USA”. This topic allowed introducing symbolic elements of Xmas celebration that are not known in Ukraine, but are very popular in the USA. Thus we talked about such traditional things as advent calendars for children, nativity scenes (art pieces for indoors and life-size for outdoors), poinsettia flowers and wreaths, handmade gifts and Xmas menu. Our native-speaking guests made comments and provided explanations.
At the end of the session the group recited a poem about the Gabfest Club wrote by Svitlana G. – our colleague from the DOUNB Library. The session was wrapped up by a musical farewell – the Club’s activist Valentina, a professional music educator, played Xmas music on the piano. Mr. Jason also demonstrated his playing skills to the fellow club-members.
The Gabfest Club Committee has a long tradition of Xmas parties. The year 2015 was no exception. The fund-rising campaign allowed us to set a beautiful Xmas tea table with the assortment of sweet snacks and season fruit. The table was decorated with handcrafts provided by the WOA’s friends from partner schools.
The highlight of the party was a karaoke competition. The Club members introduced their favorite Xmas songs and urged the fellows to sing along. Mr. Paul introduced a Xmas song popular in the UK. It impressed the group to such extent that people started to twist to the great tune. Some tastes in music differed, but the pop music fans allowed our ex-president Vlad to introduce his favorite hard rock Xmas hit.
The atmosphere of the Gabfest Xmas party was so warm and forthcoming that people of all ages (from teen-agers to retired adults) mixed and mingled and enjoyed each other’s company.
The hilarious spirits will stay with the Gabfest Club members until the New Year and Orthodox Xmas!
Number of participants – 33 persons.
Have a look at more pictures, please
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