Neither the drizzle nor cold winds could put a damper on the children’s spirits. They simply took no notice of the weather as they stood on the stage for half-an-hour, smiling and waving as they gently swayed to classic Christmas tunes.
On ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High,’ the first song of the night, children clad in bright red, yellow and blue gowns took the stage, ringing small bells they were clasping tightly. For five minutes, the performers kept moving in synchrony against a background that comprised snowflakes and a large snowman.
Other musical performances focused on the Nativity. Children dressed as shining angels in white gowns, kings in regal gowns, shepherds in modest clothing and a woman playing the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus doll in her arms, appeared on the stage as ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ played in the background. Props were also used throughout the night. Bethlehem’s star was fixed in the middle of the stage and as it moved across, children emerged from behind it dressed as wise men. The audience burst into applause when this happened.
Backstage, Mani, who performed as a king, was getting ready for the last song of the night. “My dance is very good. I can’t wait for it,” said the excited boy. Cookie, the girl who hosted the show, said she was worried that something would go wrong and she feared she wouldn’t be able to announce the songs properly. But she was happy that the event went by without a hitch. “It was a great concert. We worked really hard.”
Sister Ruth Lewis, who is in charge of Dar-ul-Sukun, said that a concert is organised every year and is always proud of the children’s performances. Of the 200 children present at the orphanage, about 40 performed. Even some of the adults joined in.
“The children were very excited and had been preparing for a month. They don’t have families but whenever they see a crowd, they are happy.” Sr. Ruth said that such events were important for the children as they get excited when others come to see them. “They go to other events and feel happy seeing other children perform. They wait for their turn to see what they can do.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2012.
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@Genius: Your information is not correct. Jesus Christ was born of Virgin Mary and his birth is documented. Many people believed Virgin Mary had an affair. Others believed she was indeed Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ was as willed by God.
Christmas as we see being celebrated, in fact has nothing to do with Jesus most unfortunately. The truth is that no one knows exactly when Jesus was born. The Western Europeans celebrate it on 25th December whereas the Eastern Europeans do it on the 7th January. As far as the time of birth of Jesus is concerned the only hint we get is from the truest testament. It tells us that it was not in cold weather like that of December. Jesus was born under a date tree and certainly in absolute seclution and out of town. What the Europeans have been celebrating since centuries is in fact Odinmas. In other words they would celebrate this festival as they do today to venerate their Pagan god Odin. We all can see the hallmark of the Pagan practices in reindeer and a hefty Nordic man dressed in all red plus other trimmings of Nordic Pagan practices. None of such things relate to Jesus as no one in the land of his birth i.e Palestine, knows anything of those Pagan practices as do the Europeans. The knowledgeable people of Europe very openly admit that they have incorporated the Pagan practices into their religion simply to lure the Pagans to accept the European version of Christianity. The European version of Christianity is also very different from the practices of the ancient and more authentic Christians e.g. the Iraqis, Egyptians and more conservative and pure, the Ethiopians. The history of Ethiopia is that when the Portugese imperialists invaded Ethiopia and their priests tried to convert the Ethiopians to their European version of Christianity, the Ethiopians launched an uprising against the imperialist Portugese and manged to throw them out of Ethiopia. In this uprising the Muslims of Ethiopia fought shoulder to shoulder with their Christian Ethiopian brothers. The relation of Christians and Muslims of Ethiopia has always been very warm and cordial since ancient times. One should not be confused by the aggressive acts of those corrupt Ruling factions of Ethiopia who have been bribed by the ugly Americans of Washington to create their very favourite pastime in this region i.e. bloodshed with the friendly understanding the good Ethiopians Muslims or Christians have maintained since centuries. In fact Ethiopia contrasts heavily when one comes to compare Muslim/Christian relations with that of another African country i.e. Nigeria. In Nigeria there are very frequent Muslim/Christian bloodshed. What could be the reason? Could it be that the Nigerians practice the European version of Christianity?
This is so sweet . May God Bless them Merry Christmas in Advance