Lights shining out in the dark winter nights
THROUGHOUT the world there are rituals surrounding the banishing of winter darkness using light.
For the Hindu festival of Diwali lamps are lit; in Iceland during the darkest days when the sun never shines, people give each other books for comfort, and during the old pagan festival of Samhain, bonfires are lit in defiance of long, dark winter days to come.
Here in the UK we still mark our human need to banish darkness by filling our homes with lights in the run-up to and during the Christmas period.
Over the centuries Cheltenham’s iconic Pittville Pump Room has been a place for people to come together.
The Cheltenham Trust is continuing the tradition of bringing light into our lives during these dark days, and is inviting the community to gather for our modern-day tradition of switching on festive lights to herald the start of the Christmas season at the pump room on Saturday, November 26.
This year’s display will be more splendid than ever and is being celebrated with a community event day for everyone to enjoy.
With a host of free family-focused activities, the event continues the tradition of bringing everyone together to celebrate this special, and magical, time of year.
With Frozen characters Queen Elsa, Princess Anna and Olaf The Snowman; festive live music; choirs singing carols
Join the debate and stay up to date by following us on and Christmas songs; an artisan gifts market; characters from Aladdin, and the Heritage Café and a festive food fair serving Christmas favourites, the countdown to Christmas is on.
Starting at 10am with the opening of the artisan market, the excitement will build as darkness falls and children listen for the distinctive sound of sleigh bells as Father Christmas arrives, thanks to the Round Table, to help switch on the lights at 6pm. You never know, there may even be snow to add to the winter wonderland.
As a charity, the Cheltenham Trust re-invests all donations into free community events and activities for everyone to enjoy, such as this year’s Christmas programme across our venues.
Your support, through donations, enables us to do even more for the community in Cheltenham.
You can show your support by buying tickets for our Christmas raffle to win free year membership to trust activities, deluxe hamper and vouchers for us in our cafes; rounding up your bill or making a donation online or at the till in any of our cafes, donating at the free events, or when you visit any of our venues. We thank you for your support.
Everyone is welcome to come and join us at the pump room as we light up Christmas, and bring in the light for this magical time of year.
See our full Christmas programme online at issuu.com/home/published/ christmas_brochure_1_