On Sunday 27th December, the Malayalee Association Redhill, Surrey followed through with their annual Christmas programme online.
Every year, local Malayalees* come together to celebrate the occasion at St. Matthew's hall - including socialising, dancing, singing, a Nativity play and dinner to conclude. As a regular attendee myself, I can confirm that these nights are always filled with festivities and fun for all. However, this Christmas was celebrated over Zoom in this bizzare circumstance.
Despite the lack of direct contact, many activities were still able to continue - some of which being pre-recorded and the others live. This included: songs, dances, TikTok compilations and a quiz hosted by Santa Claus himself.
Dania Davis was present at the celebration and offers her thoughts on the experience:
"It was very entertaining and fun to see everyone taking part in so many activities," Dania said. "It felt so great as we could still interact as though we were still seeing each other face-to-face" - she remarked that the Christmas quiz was the highlight for her as it was amusing to see how "enthusiastic yet serious everyone was" . On the other hand, compared to a typical MARS event, Dania highlighted the inability to "move around from place to place" and "talking with your friends privately" which detracted from the social aspect of the night. Alongside this, she described issues such as "audio being slower than the video" and "audio breaking up". But with some Christmas spirit, these complications didn't hinder enjoyment.
It was certainly a night to remember for me and for many and it is hoped that MARS will be able to celebrate Easter this April (including competitions for prizes) but our ever-changing circumstances may mean this is not possible - in which case I am confident the community will be able to deliver another engaging online event.
*People originating from the state of Kerala in India
