Festival to light up lives

NIEU-BETHESDA NEWS - Each year on New Year's Eve (Oujaarsaand), the Bethesda Arts Centre hosts the Festival of Lights.

The festival is a joyful celebration, as hundreds of candle-lit lanterns wind up the hill from the centre through the village.

This year the festival will be held from 19:30 to 00:00.

For many people, the new year heralds a time of change - getting rid of bad habits and bringing on new, better ones. Most people make new year resolutions such as: "I'll exercise every day; eat better food: be on time; work harder..." The lights at the Festival of Lights symbolise mankind's hopes and intentions to start afresh and to bring light into the world.

The organisers of the Festival of Lights say Bethesda Arts Centre started the festival to create another, better way of greeting the New Year. "For adults, the money wasted on alcohol could be so much better spent on other things, and the abuse, misery, and neglect that often result from excessive drinking can be avoided. For children of alcoholic parents, the New Year is a time of fear and misery.

"We make lanterns, and help guests make their own. We present a performance and prepare an alcohol-free feast for everyone. Then everyone carries a lantern as a symbol of hope and joy around the village for residents and guests to share."

For more information contact Gerald Mei at gerald@bethesdatower.co.za or Sandra Sweers at sandra@bethesdatower.co.za or 049 8411 731.