Merry Christmas to everyone, ladies! When I was creating my post for this community, @pathanapsana also invited me to this contest. Pathanapsana, here is my entry, thank you for inviting me.
December 23rd was a lovely day, and the entire sky was illuminated by the sun's rays. The golden sunray peeking through my bedroom window reminded me that another beautiful day had arrived. It was a special day for me because the "Swarna Hansa Women Welfare Society" of our housing scheme had organized a special Christmas Fair in our welfare building premises, with the intention of getting financial assistance to our welfare society. I was tasked with serving as the fair's announcer. As a member of that society, I also had a lot of work to do, in addition to the announcing, so I jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen to prepare our coffee and breakfast.
I rushed through my routine tasks because I needed to be there by 9.00 a.m. I quickly took a shower and prepared to leave. It was compulsory to bring something to sell by every member. I had bananas in my house that were not quite ripe, but I packed them in a bag to give one of my colleagues to sell. I knew that I didn’t have time to sell them, as I had some assignments to perform.
We expected a large crowd on that day because we had made a lot of announcements among neighbors and close villages. We completed all of the necessary tasks the night before, such as cleaning, fixing stalls, and arranging traditional oil lamps and decorations.
While I was going there, some members had already arrived and were preparing their stalls. As soon as I arrived there, I made an announcement and reminded all members to come and set up their stalls as quickly as possible. Within a half-hour, most members arrived and set up their stalls; there were many items, including garments, papaya, pineapples, bananas, bedsheets, pillowcases, tea leaves, flower plants, sweet items, and traditional foods such as Kaum, kokis, and aluva. As it was scheduled to begin at around 9.30 a.m., everyone was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Chief Guest and other special guests.
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When I made my request via announcement, the Chief Guest, Grama Sevaka of our area, lit the traditional oil lamp. Later other special guests also lit the traditional lamp following the Chief Guest.
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In addition to their financial assistance, they opened some stalls and bought their needed things. Following that, the fair was opened to the public, as there was a big crowd the goods were sold quickly. Meanwhile, the Chairperson of our society thanked the Chief Guest and other special guests for their invaluable help and cordially invited them to join us for our traditional tea table.
When lunchtime approached, by making an announcement I requested our stall holders to take a half an hour break for lunch and return by 1.00 p.m. Members of the organizing committee and other volunteers, including myself, were given a lunch packet that had been ordered from a nearby restaurant. Therefore, we ate our lunch at the Welfare Society building while keeping an eye on the stalls.
When the fair opened after lunch, there was a large crowd eager to purchase the items. I announced from time to time amid the music, inviting other members to come and visit our stalls. Some goods in stalls finished early, while others, such as clothing, slippers, and plants, remained until the evening.
Because the selling was so successful, it was decided to close the fair around 4 p.m. Mrs. Malani Hettiarachchi, Secretary of the Welfare Association, wound up the fair with her thank-you speech. Even though the fair had ended, everyone stayed for several hours, having a chat and engaging in fun activities. It was a lovely day, and we had a great time because it was different from other days. The day we spent with our neighbors fostered close friendships and unity among us. It also helped to strengthen our bonds with our neighbors, as well as providing an opportunity for every stallholder to profit financially by selling their wares. I was also excited because, after a very long time, I had the opportunity to participate in such an exciting activity as an announcer. At about 6.00 p.m. everyone said goodbye wishing happy Christmas to each other.
As the day had worn me down, I went to bed early after dinner to reflect on the events of the day from the comfort of my bed.
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