Our annual Christmas Luncheon was held on December 7, 2019.
Video and photo gallery Included below Description
Celebrating Wales at the Christmas Luncheon
The 2019 Christmas Luncheon took place on the first Saturday of December at the Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield, MA. The grounds and buildings of Storrowton Village were decked out for Christmas, but the best decoration was a blanket of snow—typical of December this year, a remarkably snowy month—which heightened the festive mood. Around 42 members and guests were in attendance; everyone, including newcomers and children, were welcomed with the customary warmth of the WSWNE. The beautifully appointed event room was a sea of red, the color that easily 90% of attendees opted to wear. After a merry social hour, we took our places at table and enjoyed a feast concluding with Christmas crackers, coffee, ice cream and Welsh cakes.
The merchandise table featured a tantalizing array of items, including mugs, coasters, Christmas ornaments, ties, tea towels, framed prints, and the beautiful oversized picture book Wales on the Map. On the other side of the room, a “freebie” table proffered maps, pamphlets, and booklet guides for anyone yearning for the comforting feeling of easy access to Welsh travel information. Winning raffle tickets (whose numbers were ceremoniously and expertly read by 10- year-old Matthew) entitled their possessors to a gift set of Aber Falls liquors, an oversized stuffed dog named Dewi, a Welsh language children’s book, and several Fly 2 Wales t-shirts.
Jane Morgan shares a Christmas in Wales memory
Nine WSWNE members presented a program titled “The Twelve Days of a Welsh Christmas,” which consisted of a dozen varied selections that together painted an enchanting picture of traditional Christmas celebration in Wales. The selections (see below with YouTube video link) ranged from poetry of Shakespeare to prose of Dylan Thomas, personal recollections of Christmases past (some published and well-known, some from our own members) to informational articles about Christmas food, the Plygain, and the Mari Lwyd, and they concluded with a sing-along of the 15th-century Welsh winter tune “Deck the Halls.”
The program harmonized beautifully, and the five richly detailed reminiscences of childhood Christmases in Wales especially sparkled, with their leitmotifs of stockings bulging with treats placed at the foot of the bed, comings and goings to visit relatives, omniscient adults and giddily excited children. We left the warm tavern for the snow-lined Storrowton sidewalks full of holiday cheer and inspired to promote the spirit of Welsh Christmas in our own celebrations.
Event description by member Isabella Leake
YouTube Video of TWELVE DAYS OF A WELSH CHRISTMAS program
The video includes an introduction by WSWNE President Susan Davies Sit of Board Member Magdalen Dowden who organized the program. Magdalen Dowden then introduces each of its twelve selections below:
1. A WINTER’S TALE by William Shakespeare read by Magdalen Dowden
2. CHRISTMAS MEMORIES by Glyn Dowden
3. CHRISTMAS AND THE PLYGAIN c.1850 read by Susan Davies Sit
4. CHRISTMAS FOOD by Jane Morgan
5. WELSH CHRISTMAS by Peta Morgan Shepherd, read by Lowri Jones
6. THE MARI LWYD of South Wales read by Annie Rodgers
7. A WINTERS TALE (in part) by DYLAN THOMAS read by Susan Jenkins Meers
8. CHRISTMAS MEMORIES read by Magdalen Dowden
9. THE WREN’S HOUSE read by Susan Davies Sit
10. DELYTH’S CHRISTMAS IN MID WALES read by Janet Taylor
11. A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES by Dylan Thomas read by Glyn Dowden
12. DECK THE HALLS carol (tune written in Wales in the 15th century) sung by us all.
photo gallery
