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Once again the air was alive with the sounds of little voices celebrating the spirit of Christmas!Our annual presentation of the traditional Christmas Karavaki held at the Archbishopric in Rondebosch on Saturday 8 December was a roaring success.
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This year we opted for a whole new approach and started off with a picnic on the lawn while the kids played games and had great fun making faces as they posed in the nativity-themed photo scenes.
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We were jpoined by the new Greek Consul in Cape Town Mrs Despina Tsarakakis and her husband Christo and their daughters Sophia and Michaela, whose birthday we also celebrated on the night.
There was a charming musical interlude provided by Eleni and her four children who sang Fill the world with love and a stunning rendition of Celione Dion’s The Prayer translated into Greek.
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Then we were treated to the honeyed voice of Meletios Kashindra who was followed by members of the Ukrainian Association of South Africa singing traditional Ukrainian Christmas carols.
As twilight lingered over the mountain we all settled down to watch Elf, a fun movie.
Afterwards everyone was encouraged to sing along with f well-loved and popular Greek kalanda and English carols and of course, Jingle Bells was a huge hit and so loud that people in Sea Point heard us!
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At the end of the performances we all tucked into a festive feast of mouth-watering Greek and South African confectionery provided by the ladies of The Welfare Committee.
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Afterwards as the moon came up, Pepe Sofianos, our MC, started the countdown to switching on the lights of the Karavaki, which once again was a vision to behold and as the oohs and aahs died down, everyone agreed it was the most spectacular Karavaki ever.
It was a very cheerful, laid-back and happy evening and a perfect way to start the Christmas season with family and friends. This year marks the ninth Karavaki festivity and, as always, everyone shared the love and enjoyment that has made it a signature event in our Orthodox Christmas calendar.
A huge big fat Greek thank you to His Eminence Archbishop Sergios for hosting us and Pater Nicholaos for always supporting us, Gerry and Gabriel who made magic with the Karavaki lighting, Evgenia and Antonio for all their hard work and to Yiota and her merry band of helpers who made it all happen.
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We wish you all a glorious Christmas and a blessed New Year for 2019. Kala Christougena and Chronia Pola!
By Pepe Sofianos.
