“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, and hope for the future.” This is exactly what the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science, University of Colombo delivered last December, relieving all the stress, pressure, and depression of the past year with mystical entertainment, throwing a spectacular celebration of the season starting from Christmas all the way till New Year.
The Christmas festivities were implemented in three phases. Starting off with Feliz Navidad – the club’s first-ever Christmas Cover competition. Song covers were collected in both vocal and instrumental categories and posted on our Facebook page for voting. This competition was open to everyone to show off their musical talents and spread the spirit of Christmas with their favourite carols and hymns. The winners of the competition, chosen based on Facebook likes and reactions, were given sumptuous gifts from the Official Gift Partners, Baker’s Street, Krumbs, and Beat the Butter. And that was not all, this phase also included amusing Instagram challenges where the members had to tag their most musical friends and friends who closely resemble certain Christmas characters. Feliz Navidad definitely had everyone perpetually whistling around a merry tune.
The next phase of the project was Mistletoe magic conducted exclusively for the members of RACFOSUOC. Even though 2020 had forced everyone to put real-life experiences on hold, Mistletoe Magic proved that there was plenty of fun to be had from home. Club members joined under the virtual mistletoe in teams of four, for a joyous, carefree, and competitive zoom session of exhilarating Christmas themed games.
The first game conducted was Zoom-Out Christmas, the teams were asked to guess the festive images that were zoomed in. This was followed by Sound of Flakes, a game that tested how well the teams knew their Christmas songs. And finally, Pictionary, where the teams had to guess the Christmas related illustrations rapidly. All teams participated with unrestrained enthusiasm in completing the tasks, taking on cheeky dares to get clues, and most of all, guessing the not so secretive Secret Santa who kept popping out now and then throughout the session. It was a night of fun and laughter and a great opportunity for all the members to bond. This phase of the project definitely proved that the best gift is the company and friendship of each other.
The final phase of the project, probably the most anticipated session of them all, Feliz Navidad – Open Mic Night, a melodious night featuring performances by two distinguished, zestful, and adoring celebrity guests Mr. Minura Halwathura and Ms. Falan Andrea, along with the winners of Feliz Navidad, and of course the immensely talented members of our club. All participants had a blast that evening singing along to all the songs- with their mics muted of course! Not only did this session flaunt the known talents in our club, but it also turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to bring out some of the hidden melodious talents as well. Everyone stayed right till the very end and were sorry to leave when the event was over. It was a transcending experience to listen to all those lovely pieces and this night came to be the absolute harmonious finale not only to the project about also to the year 2020.
All in all this project accomplished all the goals it set out to achieve. But of course, none of this could’ve been possible without the eager, efficient, and committed members of the POC and the forever helping hands of the board of directors who all worked tirelessly to play their part and fit together perfectly like the jigsaw pieces of a puzzle, to create the flawless picture that was this project. Even with all the academic activities, lab reports, and projects that needed to be submitted along with the added stress of the upcoming examinations, we all came together as a team, tossing out ideas, answering all late-night reminders, participating in hour-long trial sessions, and making sure to have fun, all the while long. Even Santa couldn’t have thought of a better gift. As we step into a new year, with new beginnings and adventures, through this project we all certainly made some holiday memories that could warm even the coldest of days.
By Rtr. Sayagi Asogan
Nice one ♥️🔥
✨❤️Nice
One of the best memories 💫🎄