Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
On the evening of Monday, 30th November, Dulwich International High School Suzhou held its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. The “lighting of the tree” is a popular Dulwich tradition that dates all the way back to the inauguration of our school. This event is always very well attended by students and staff alike, as it marks the start of the buildup towards Christmas and features some great Christmas musical performances that help to create an unforgettable and magical atmosphere. While the event normally takes place in the school lobby, this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event took place outside in the open air. A very large and impressive Christmas tree was erected outside of our school’s Alleyn House Boarding house, specifically for the event.
The event began with a performance from Martin Crozier’s handbell group that delighted the audience with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the well-known Christmas Song: Carol of the Bells. This is a very a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914. The words are based on the Ukrainian folk song 'Shchedryk' telling the story of a little sparrow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring. The bells performance really helped to set the scene and started to get everybody into the Christmas spirit. Martin has recently been awarded a Fellowship at the Chartered College of Teaching.
This was followed by a heartfelt speech from our Director, Sarah Tielman who spoke movingly about the family nature of Christmas and how COVID-19 related travel restrictions were having an impact on the traditional family Christmas. As an Australian national, Sarah normally experiences Christmas in the blazing heat at the height of the Australian summer. This year, she will be spending Christmas in chilly Suzhou for the first time!
Sarah then introduced the next musical performance from the school choir who sang together harmoniously, accompanied by our new music teacher Sam Mulliner on piano.
Sarah then started leading the audience in a dramatic countdown from 10 to 1, before hitting the button and lighting the tree to great cheers, as it burst dramatically into life, blazing a wonderful display of delightful twinkling lights!
But the performances were not over yet, as many members of staff (including key members of our school’s senior leadership team) rushed up to the first-floor balcony in order to serenade the audience from above. They worked together to deliver a powerful rendition of the traditional Christmas Song “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” which they sang in both English and Chinese, much to the delight of our students!
Finally, Alleyn house was opened for students and staff to enjoy a collection of traditional Christmas treats including mince pies and chocolate yule log:
Overall, despite the COVID-19 epidemic prevention measures, the event was a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone that attended!