The Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future at Cumberland Lodge
Being exposed to Michaelmas Term for the first time in your life makes you feel as if time has stopped after the term ends. That is how drastic the contrast is between the term and the break time. To grapple with this peculiar feeling and make sense of time again, a couple of WHT Scholars, myself included, had a chance to take part in the Commonwealth and International Student Christmas Conference at Cumberland Lodge, owing to generous support from WHT.
Cumberland Lodge feels like an actual get-away as it is located in the middle of Windsor Great Park – a one-hour train ride from Oxford plus a five-kilometer walk from Windsor Castle, if you dare to take one. As Oxford University students, who are particularly sensitive about their time, we took a cab from a train station but agreed to make sure to walk next time as the landscape seemed especially appealing for reflective strolls. Upon our arrival, we discovered the celebratory ambience of the residence, which reminded us of the childhood sentiments when playing with a snow globe – you shake it and let the magic happen. Little did we know that the magic was yet to happen with us in the Lodge.
The programme of the Conference was carefully designed around the Christmas theme in its eternity, starting from traditions conceived in the past to how they are interpreted in the present and where they will take us in the future. Exploring the themes, WHT Scholars became passengers of a time machine for a couple of pre-Christmas days.
Spirit of the Past
During the Lodge tour, we were introduced to its history, when it was an educational foundation run by Amy Buller who researched the rise of far-right sentiments among students and academics in Germany in the 1930s. She advocated for the need for setting up a place where young people could meet to discuss their contribution to building a better society and not repeat the mistakes of the past and be ethical leaders of the future.
The history tour was followed by movie time- the screening of “Christmas Present” (1985) and “A Christmas Carol” (1984). Afterwards, we had a chance to reflect on the traditions of the past with the composer and the director of the former movie.
WHT Scholars sun-kissed after the tour
Spirit of the Present
We found ourselves in insightful roundtable discussions with students from universities across the UK coming from different cultures. We WHT Scholars made our contributions by trying to understand how to meaningfully follow the traditions from the past today by adapting and reinterpreting them.
To feel present and grounded, WHT Scholars together with other participants were encouraged to take a long walk on a winter trail to the Royal Chapel of All Saints where we had the aesthetic pleasure to listen to a carol service. We also had a beautiful cultural experience during the Christmas dinner and the festive soirée showcasing our hidden talents. WHT Scholars can never stop surprising you!
Samuel taking a picture of WHT ladies and other participants dressed up for the festive soirée
Spirit of the Future
During the Conference, the participants actively listened to the talks about Christmas commercialisation and the urge to promote ethical consumption among the future generation. This sparked captivating discussions and provided food for thought for our journey back to the present and to Oxford.
WHT Scholars ready for their journey back
