The Village church (part of the Metropolitan Community Church network, you can read about them here) took charge this evening and chose a seldom used carol as the focus for their art installation.
'Now light one thousand Christmas lights on dark earth tonight!' is not often sung here as it's a Swedish carol which is based on a poem written about the festival of Santa Lucia which is on December 13th. We're only ten days late in featuring it as part of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar and it was good to have an international flavour to the evening.
The development of this carol into an art installation involved the making and hanging of hundreds of paper lanterns so that the ceiling of the hut was completely covered in swaying, swinging lights as the gusty wind (yet again!) blew all around us. In the centre of the hut were some giant versions of the same lanterns as well as a small nativity in a Scandinavian style.
Outside the hut was a labyrinth which was outlined with lamps from Solar Aid, adding further to the theme of lamp lighting. Solar Aid lights are powered entirely by solar energy and for every lamp bought in this country, two are sent to a developing country where there is no electricity. These are particularly used for education purposes so that school children and students can study after dark and are invaluable.You can read more about the charity here.
The church also brought some singers and some carol sheets and a pretty good crowd gathered around the labyrinth to sing a variety of Christmas carols, not just the one which had inspired the installation.
Our final hut of this year will be up at Hove Lagoon and is number 395. There will be an angel theme and lots of carol singing, readings and a Christmas blessing as well as an opportunity to take away a small original artwork.
