Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA)

                      

 

 

 

Christmas 2015 at JASNA Winnipeg

 

December is the time when all JANEITES celebrate the birth of their favourite author.  At JASNA Winnipeg we do this by sharing good food, playing games and sharing anecdotes.  In other words we have a jolly evening get together in much the same way that a group of friends and neighbours might have done in Regency England.

 

Every other year we have a sit-down dinner and on alternate years we celebrate with a birthday cake.  This year was an alternate year and I think all those present would agree the bakery outdid itself.  Instead of one cake we had two sky-high delicacies: chocolate/raspberry and cinnamon/spice.  In truth all those with a sweet tooth should have been (and were!) mightily satisfied.

 

In honour of the 200th anniversary of the publication of EMMA members were asked to read a favourite passage from the novel or to share something from a publication related to the EMMA themes.  As usual there was a wide diversity of opinions ranging from character descriptions to revealing plot points.  The readings were spirited and naturally were catalysts for debate and in some cases mockery.

 

After the cake-gorging had taken place the brain game commenced.  Members were given a slip of paper containing an un-attributed quotation from EMMA.  As each quotation was read members were challenged to figure out the attribution.  Was it Jane commenting on a character?  Was it one character’s thoughts about another character?  Was it part of a conversation?  If you want to play the game you’ll find a list of the quotations in one posted document and the attributions in another.

 

We’re all looking forward to February’s meeting when we’ll be discussing all things culinary in the average late 18th-early 19th century kitchen.