Women create South Africa’s largest Christmas tree
"We are bringing communities together in a most beautiful way,"
WHITE RIVER – On Saturday, December 3, 67 Blankets for Mandela Day officially unveiled the biggest knitted Christmas tree in South Africa to loud cheers and warm congratulations from a 200-strong crowd of supporters at the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre.
The creator of the worldwide phenomenon that is 67 Blankets, Carolyn Steyn, said, “I’m so proud of this idea that snowballed into an international movement in honour of Madiba.
“We are knitting the tapestry of our lives together. On the one hand, thousands of people receive our blankets. On the other, people have found a family in 67 Blankets. We are bringing communities together in a most beautiful way,” she said.
The 67 Blankets ambassador and White River’s organiser of the magnificent Christmas tree, Penny Boden, said, “Coming out of Covid-19, we wanted something fun to do. The best part is that everything has been donated. No money has changed hands and now we’ll be able to keep hundreds of poor people warm in winter.”
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The joyous celebration at Casterbridge came after a year of dedicated planning, engineering, networking, joining together and of course, countless hours of crocheting by the wonderful grandmothers who call themselves “KnitWits”.
It took 70 White River KnitWits and about another 20 from around the country to crochet 1 800 colourful woolen squares from all over South Africa, before a team of local grans could gather at Casterbridge and begin to sew the squares of the enormous, psychedelic blankets together.
Then, the blankets had to be tied to the three steel cones forming the 6m high steel armature. Using pulleys and thick ropes, it took a team of eight men to erect the giant tree structure.
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Engineer James Luus and Chris Basson built the heavy steel armature for the tree as a free gift to the organisation, while the armature’s design was donated by the women from Appledore, England, who had made a similar knitted tree.
Started by two of South Africa’s most preeminent women, Carolyn Steyn and Zelda la Grange, 67 Blankets for Mandela Day took wings eight years ago and has been adopted across the world, with active branches in India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, UK and the USA.
Speaking at the unveiling of the tree, Steyn enthused, “This is ubuntu in action. This is a Christmas tree with a purpose. This is a party with a purpose.”
67 Blankets has indeed joined people as divergent as prisoners, dedicated grannies of all races, lonely people, even blind people, in the cause of providing warmth to poor people in winter. The organisation is run like clockwork by Jaco Lötter and his team at Steyn City, Johannesburg.
Boden paid tribute to the numerous donors and sponsors who came on board and gave a special thanks to Casterbridge owner Louis van der Merwe for donating the venue, before praising her team of ambassadors, Carol Stephen, Maxie Viljoen and Kim Buckland.
Once again, Jamie Negrau and Soul Taxi proved their heart and mettle by playing for free, and giving the afternoon a festive, chilled-out, bluesy vibe.
As a cool Lowveld evening drew in, nothing more perfect could have ended the afternoon than accomplished choir master Harry Healey leading the large crowd through a number of Christmas carols.
To join the White River KnitWits, call Boden on 082 875 6691 or Buckland on 083 655 0164.
