Bringing Christmas stories to life

We have organised a series of free Christmas storytelling sessions to be read in a range of European languages at Clayport Library.

Coinciding with Durham Christmas Festival, children can hear stories of Santa, snow maidens, magical Christmas trees and the sheer joy of Christmas in five different languages on Saturday 3 December.

The sessions are free of charge, require no booking, and will be supplemented by a range of free craft activities from 10am until 3pm.

Learn about Christmas traditions from other cultures

Pupils from Finchale Primary School enjoying a preview of the traditional European tales

Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for children to sit down, enjoy a magical Christmas story and explore a range of languages.

"As well as learning about Christmas traditions and cultures from other countries, it will hopefully help to inspire a passion for languages in our young people. This is the perfect time of year to make learning fun and engage our children with Christmas activities from far and wide."

Details of the sessions

Students from Durham University's School of Modern Languages and Culture will be telling the stories in English and a second language at the following sessions:

• 10am: La légende du Sapin, by Thierry Chapeau, read in French
• 11am: Snegurochka, The Snow Maiden, a traditional tale read in Russian
• 12pm: La Magia de la Navidad, read in Spanish
• 2pm: Pip und Posy und der Weihnachtsbaum, by Axel Scheffler, read in German
• 3pm: La renne di Babbo Natale, read in Italian