Join us for an afternoon devoted to secular folk holiday traditions, filled with music, workshops and storytelling. This is an intergenerational and intercultural event. We especially invite people who have recently moved to our country and would like to learn about Polish holiday traditions in a friendly, warm atmosphere.

 HOLLY JOLLY DIALOGUE
 18 December, from 5 p.m.
 The Dialogue Centre in Łódź, Wojska Polskiego Street 83
 FREE ADMISSION TO WORKSHOPS AND CAROL SINGING; REGISTRATION FOR STORYTELLING

PROGRAMME:

 LIVE STORYTELLING BY MONIKA STASIAK (SECULAR RITUALS) AT THE SHARED TABLE | registration required 
The December death and rebirth of the Sun. A time of omnipresent darkness and returning light. A time of returning to the mythical beginning, when words, songs and gestures are needed to recreate grain and fruit trees, farm and forest creatures, the Earth and celestial bodies. A time when deceased loved ones are invited to the table, a place is made for them in the straw diduch, and they are asked to intercede in fortune-telling and for prosperity in the fields.

Although today the story of holidays is a collage of shop window decorations, winter songs on the radio and frantic gift shopping, its roots go much deeper. Deeper not only than ‘Last Christmas’, but even than the story of the divine child who had no room at the inn and had to find a manger. You will hear about these roots, the syncretic Slavic-Christian nature of Christmas and the hidden meanings of Christmas Eve customs during a lively chat at the Christmas table.

 The event will take place in three half-hour rounds:
17:00 – in Polish
17:30 – in Polish
18:00 – in English
The number of places is limited, registration is required: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. OPEN CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION WORKSHOP | Free admission 
Do you remember chains made of coloured paper? We love this tradition! And we want to create the longest one possible together with you. We know that the longest one is 128 km, so we won't be able to beat that record, but the longer it is, the better! Following the old custom, we will be able to integrate, talk and feel the joy of working together. And when we're done, we'll hang it on the one of the trees in Survivors' Park, and in case of bad weather, it will decorate the interior of the Dialogue Centre.

CHRISTMAS DECORATION WORKSHOP WITH THE STREFA FOUNDATION
 NATURE – at this station, you will be able to make decorations using natural products such as dried oranges and pine cones.
 MACRAMÉ – we will try our hand at macramé techniques. These will be two-hour macramé workshops, during which participants will learn basic knots and make simple Christmas tree decorations (e.g., Santa Clauses, pendants, mini Christmas trees),
 ECO – an eco-decoration zone where you can create unique decorations for your Christmas tree with your own hands. In just a few minutes, the instructors will show you how to use natural and simple materials – colored paper, Christmas napkins, paper rolls, or jute string – to conjure up colorful baubles, Santa Clauses, 3D Christmas trees, etc.

 JOINT CAROL SINGING | 6:30 p.m. | free admission 
Magda Gaj-Nowicka, known as Bergamutka, and Jacek Pietrzak, who will accompany her on the piano, would like to invite you to an intimate winter gathering with carols and pastorals.
They do not call it a concert – they prefer to think of it as a shared space where voices blend naturally and music becomes conversation.

In the duet:
Magda Gaj-Nowicka – vocals
Jacek Pietrzak – piano
and YOUR voices!

Musicans: We want to immerse ourselves in the world of old songs together with you. Christmas carols and pastorals are like an open door to a vast universe: they combine history, spirituality, folk wishes, the humour of shepherds and the oldest stories about the beginning of the world. They arose from a need for closeness – they were sung at tables, in villages and towns, to bring people together, to enliven the winter season, to pass on traditions and to build community.

Today, this custom is slowly dying out... or perhaps it is just waiting for someone to give it a place?Are we really ashamed to sing? Or maybe it's enough to sit close to each other, listen to the first phrases and let our voices flow as they can?We invite you to join us so that we can feel it again together – the warmth of old melodies, the energy of human voices, the simplicity of being ‘here and now’.Let's sit down together. Let's sing like we used to… 

“Holly Jolly Dialogue” will be an event complementing the Łódź of Many Cultures Festival and closing this year's edition.