Halton’s Mayor and Mayoress had a taste of Christmas from other cultures when they attended the International Family Club Christmas Party. at St John’s Church Hall, Greenway Road.
They chatted with the families, listened to the children (and some of the parents) singing Christmas carols in different languages and sampled some Polish beetroot soup, Pierogi (a type of dumpling with filling) and some poppy seed cake.
The families presented them with a greetings card with Happy Christmas written in different languages and a Christmas flower basket.
The children decorated Christmas stockings and baubles with the help of Halton Borough Council Children’s Centre staff before receiving their presents from Santa. All thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Mayor Cllr Philbin said: “It was lovely to experience a taste of what other cultures from around Europe do at Christmas.”
The International Family Club is part of Umbrella Halton, which started life informally in the summer of 2011 and went on to hold its Inaugural General Meeting later that year.
The aim of Umbrella Halton is to promote racial harmony, equality and diversity and to improve the lives of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who live, work and visit Halton.
Over the years Umbrella Halton has achieved some success, most notably hosting a Race Hate Crime Conference in 2012 and helping to set up a support group for Polish families in 2014.
It is planning events for the next year, to be announced shortly. The club will hold its AGM next month.