At the end of the first semester of classes at the Bethany Orthodox School for Girls, a gala concert is held annually by the school’s students. Since there are over 350 students at the school, the holiday is divided into three days. On the first day, the kindergardeners perform, on the second day, the middle-aged girls, and on the last day, the older students.
Children read poems about the Nativity of Christ, sing carols in Arabic, Russian and English, and dance folk dances. Parents come and watch their children perform. The feast was attended by the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), the abbess of the Gethsemane monastery, Matushka Elisabeth (Smelic), and the sisters of the monastery. At the end of the performance, the principal, Mother Maria (Wall), thanked the children, teachers, organizers of the performances and parents for coming and supporting their children.
Then Santa Claus appeared and gave chocolate to all the children.
