6th International Christmas Eve Meeting
Polish Christmas customs, competitions for preparing Christmas decorations, Christmas Eve refreshments and Christmas carolling – all in a Christmas atmosphere and a pleasant atmosphere, for the sixth time students from abroad took part in the International Christmas Eve Meeting at the Mrowisko Student Culture Centre.
Christmas Eve meeting is already a tradition – as usual, the audience in Mrowisko was full. The organizers prepared a lot of attractions for people from abroad, among other things, in an interesting and funny way they presented Polish Christmas customs, international teams competed in the preparation of the longest chain for the Christmas tree, and the meeting ended with a common carolling. In this way, the academic community from abroad could feel the festive atmosphere, most of these people are separated from their family home by thousands of kilometres and will spend the Christmas-New Year period in Poland.
– “That’s why it’s so important to meet them, share our culture a little, explain why we behave in the way we celebrate. I think that this will make them feel appreciated, they will understand us better, and we will all feel more integrated.” - said Marek Pawełczyk, the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology while welcoming the guests.
The participants of the meeting come from different parts of the world. Zhu Jinchen comes from China, since October he has been studying at the Silesian University of Technology and for the first time in his life he encountered Polish Christmas traditions.
“This is a very interesting meeting for me, I am very happy that I took part in it, I became involved in making the longest chain for the Christmas tree,” said the student.
“For the first time in my life I will spend Christmas in Poland, and I like it, the atmosphere is great, we feel part of this community,” said Abiodun Amoran, a student from Nigeria.
– “This is a great opportunity to get involved in something together and get to know each other better, I really like all events that integrate people, especially those from different countries and cultures. I thank the university that it creates such opportunities for us to deepen our knowledge about each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect” – said Samira Sadipishkamar, a PhD student at the Silesian University of Technology from Iran.
The originators and organizers of international Christmas meetings are Polish language teachers from the Foreign Languages Centre of the Silesian University of Technology, who also engaged other units to organize Christmas meetings: Study Service Centre – Admission Office, International Mobility Office, and Exchange Student Organisation.
– “We are convinced that such meetings make sense, maybe we will change or supplement their formula in the future, but I can see that students have great fun, it is colourful, cheerful, joyful, we try to assimilate as much of our Christmas customs as we can boast” – said Dr Małgorzata Rachwalska-Mitas, director of the Foreign Languages Centre of the Silesian University of Technology
The atmosphere of the meeting caused that no one wanted to go home. The meeting ended with singing together, and the carols sounded in many languages of the world, also in Polish, performed by foreigners.
