SEEMA Celebrations

The Christmas and New Year party was attended by 130 members of all ages and was an evening of entertainment and family fun which included a show, an appearance by Father Christmas, and delicious home-made food.

SEEMA is a cultural organisation representing the tradition and rich heritage of Kerala, a state in southern India.

The association was founded on July 8 2005 with the purpose of promoting and maintaining the rich heritage of Kerala, and to establish a forum to provide an opportunity for all Malayalees in the south east to meet and exchange views, and to forge friendships with other communities.

SEEMA President Davidson Pappachen said: "This is our fourth year of having the Christmas and New Year celebration. Our main aim is to encourage tradition...in South India many festivals take place, so this is about bringing traditional celebrations to new generations.

"It is an important event for us, and our members very much enjoy themselves.

"It is very nice and we have an excellent programme - the children performing dances and music and speech and drama, as well as singing Christmas carols."

The event was attended by Father Chris Spain of St Mary Magdalene church who gave a blessing and also passed on his special Christmas message.