The Youth Wind Band at St David's Hall

This Christmas will be busier than ever for the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Music Service ensembles, with no less than 14 festive concerts and events taking place, involving over 1,000 children.

The season begins with the Transitional Wind Band Concert at St Andrew’s & St Teilo’s Church in Woodville Road on Friday, December 4.

On December 9, 500 children from all over Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan will take part in the Music Service Christmas Showcase at St David’s Hall. Of the nine ensembles involved, one will be this year’s massed choir, consisting of 250 pupils from eight primary schools. All feed into St Cyres and Stanwell schools in Penarth, where the pupils have been busily rehearsing since September.

The ensembles taking part in the annual prestigious event are: the Youth Brass Band, the High Schools’ Orchestra and Choir, the Youth Big Band (“Jazz News”), the Advanced Percussion Group, the High Schools’ Wind Band, the Intermediate Brass Band and Junior Jazz.

Performances will include arrangements of traditional, pop and classical music, ranging from The Holly and the Ivy to Christmas at the Movies.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning Cllr Freda Salway, said: “The annual music service Christmas showcase at St David’s Hall is a real highlight of the festive calendar. It’s really wonderful to see the children and young people coming together to put on such a professional performance.

“A lot of hard work has gone into their performances and I’m sure the standard will continue to be high again this year.”

Other concerts scheduled for the festive season include the Christmas Celebration at City Hall, featuring the Youth Orchestra and Choir. At Llandaff Cathedral the Youth Brass Band will perform with Llandaff Choral Society. At the Wales Millennium Centre the Youth Wind Band will take to the stage and the Junior Schools Choir will perform at St Germans Church.

Jeff Davies, Head of CCVG Music Service said “It’s a very busy time for us but it’s fantastic to see and hear the talents of so many young people at Christmas”

All performances can be found on the CCVG website: www.ccvgmusicservice.org

It's not just Scrooge who can visit Christmas past...

It’s not just Scrooge who has the opportunity to visit Christmas past, Glamorgan Archives has many items that help tell the story of how generations before us celebrated Christmas.

Items include a Whitchurch Boys School 1891 school log book which documents how children were presented with an orange at the end of the Christmas term. The orange would have been seen as a real treat and was a tradition that was replicated in most schools at the time. Pupils of Whitchurch Girl’s school however didn’t have it as easy and in the school log for 1871 it notes that pupils had missed school because they were helping their mothers clean for Christmas!

The Roath Parish magazine from 1886 paints a more extravagant picture of Christmas festivities, describing a Sunday School party they write that “the tree itself was worthy of the occasion, and at least from one point of view, was so covered with toys, dolls and ornaments that its branches were completely hidden, and looked like a gigantic heap of presents.”

Articles in the Penarth parish publication show that festive food was just as important to our ancestors as it is to us today. A copy from1900 stored in the Glamorgan Archives gives recipe ideas for the perfect Christmas fare, including mince pies and chocolate toffee, along with a hearty recipe for plum pudding which requires a pound of potatoes, suet, carrots and of course the currants and raisins we use in Christmas puddings today,

The Archives also has a comprehensive collection of Christmas cards from the past. Christmas cards grew popular in the Victorian era and many of the Christmas cards of that time featured animals, including cats, dogs, pigs, and even monkeys. There are also cards depicting troops during the First World Ward.

Christmas is a busy time for Glamorgan Archives with many people researching their family tree to give as Christmas presents to loved ones and this year Christmas is even busier for the team who are currently in the process of moving to their new building in Leckwith. The new record office will open in the spring of 2010 and will see for the first time all of Glamorgan’s records being stored in the one location.

The new state of the art building is designed to ensure historical documents are kept in the best conditions and has been constructed to create stability in temperature and humidity

Executive Member for Finance and Service Delivery, Cllr Mark Stephens, said: “The Glamorgan Archives holds many treasures of the past, and the new building in Leckwith will make it even easier for people to view documents and to research items of interest.”

Norwegian Church

Celebrate a traditional Scandinavian Christmas at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay. There is a long tradition of celebrating Christmas at the Church and this weekend is no exception as the Church hosts its annual Christmas Market. Children and adults alike are also welcome to attend the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and Carol Service.

On 29th of November the traditional Norwegian Church Christmas market will be displaying a wide range of tasty produce. Take a relaxing stroll around the market stalls laden with decorations, cards and gifts and you can also enjoy treats available from the Norwegian Coffee Shop.

Everyone is welcome and admission is free!

Also on the day will be the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony opening with the Salvation Army Band who will be singing from 4.30 with the annual Carol and Tree Lighting Service from 5.15. As the Christmas tree is a gift to the Norwegian Church from the people of Hordaland, Ms Ingeborg Astrup, Director of International Affairs at Hordaland Council will deliver a Christmas message, ahead of the lighting of the Christmas tree. The ceremony will conclude with a folk and jazz music ‘Concert for a Starry Night’ in the Tube (ticket holders only, limited number available).

Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture said “This is one of my favorite times of year in Cardiff Bay. With the city bustle in the distance, the waterfront comes into its own as a cosy, tranquil haven. With the traditional, festive atmosphere, there is something for everyone to enjoy here at Christmas time.”

The welcome will be given by The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor Brian Griffiths and the service will be led by Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe. The service will contain a number of readings, poems and hymns and will conclude at approximately 3pm. Deborah Morgan Lewis Grant will sing during the service.

A collection will be held in aid of The Friends of Velindre Hospital. The Friends of Velindre Hospital are a small group of volunteers who raise money to assist with the purchase of equipment and services which ease the patients stay in hospital. The charity also provides free thermometers to all outpatients receiving chemotherapy and they operate a Samaritan Fund which provides immediate financial and practical assistance for patients when their need is greatest.

Refreshments will be available after the memorial service.

This Christmas, Bereavement Services will again be selling memorial tags for a minimum donation of £2 in memory of a loved one, which can be placed on one of the Christmas Memorial Trees in the Wenallt Chapel Courtyard. The trees will be placed from December 1st 2009 and will remain in situ until 6th January 2010 when they will be removed in keeping with ‘Twelfth Night’ tradition. All donations received will be in support of The Friends of Velindre Hospital.

Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, said: “We recognise that the festive season can be a particularly difficult time for those who have lost a loved one and we are glad to be able to give this opportunity for people to come together to pay their respects. In addition we are delighted to support The Friends of Velindre Hospital, a charity that does such valuable work throughout the year.”

The beautifully decorated apartments adorned with all the Christmas trimmings, the table set in the Banqueting Hall in preparation for a lavish Christmas feast, the carol singers in the Library and the aroma of mulled wine makes for a wonderfully nostalgic start to Christmas.  And of course, Santa is in residence too, settled in his comfortable armchair, with time to chat and a present for every child.

The tour around the House, in the company of one of the Bute family’s housekeeping staff, in full Victorian costume, offers a glimpse of Christmas past.  One of the richest families in the world, the Bute family celebrated Christmas at Cardiff Castle. Hear about the detailed household preparations, the Christmas rituals and the Bute family traditions.

By way of contrast, ‘Christmas Present’ will be in full swing in the Castle’s Interpretation Centre, with letter writing to Santa and Christmas music from local school choirs.

The perfect appetiser to the Christmas season, last year’s Victorian Christmas Tours sold out completely, so the advice is to book as early as you can for this year’s treat.

• Victorian Christmas Tours
• Limited availability

• Sunday 6 December – Tuesday 8 December
• Saturday 12 December – Tuesday 15 December

• Times: from 4.45pm
• Adults: £10.50; Children (2-18) £7.50; Under 2s free

• Tickets now on sale
• To book call the Castle Ticket Office on 029 2087 8100

For further details visit www.cardiffcastle.com

Tenovus Cancer Charity are holding a Christmas Concert at Llandaff Catherdral.

December 7th

Tickets are £12 each and you can buy them by contacting Kate Monaghan on 02920 768865

Email: kate.monaghan@tenovus.com

Web: www.tenovus.org.uk for more details