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| St. Nicholas visited IHMS on December 6th, 2012 |
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In the early part of the fourth century, St. Nicholas was the bishop of a city called Myra (now called Demre) in present day Turkey. He had a reputation for giving anonymous gifts to the poor and would go around at night to drop off money, food, and toys in the hope of making children happy. St. Nicholas remains a patron saint of Christmas, and in the 1669 years since his death, this secret gift-giving has been the inspiration for our present day Santa Claus. |
It’s been a long standing tradition at IHMS to celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas. A feast day is the date a saint is commemorated, and for St. Nicholas it happens to be on the day he died – December 6th. So on Thursday, December 6th the students and staff gathered in the gym to welcome Saint Nicholas (or ???Sviaty Mykolaj???) with a short concert. This year, the hosts of the concert were four grade 6 students – Julianna C., Mylana S., Marta T., and Ethan W.
After a brief introduction by Mr. Picklyk, the program began with the sadochok students singing a song entitled ???O xto? xto????
During the singing, St. Nicholas entered the gym and moved to the bleachers where the students were assembled. He walked around and greeted them before sitting down to listen to the concert with two angel helpers on either side.
Under the direction of Mrs. Stanowych, each of the classes from kindergarten to grade 6 then sang a song to St. Nicholas. The concert concluded with a song that was sung by all the students.
When the concert was over, Saint Nicholas spoke to the kids for a few minutes. With assistance from two angel helpers from grade 7, he then handed out goody bags to the K to grade 3 students. The grade 4-8 students found a similar goody bag on their desk when they got back to class.
The concert was organized by the school’s Music/Ukrainian teacher, Mrs. Stanowych who is also busy preparing the students for the school’s two Christmas concerts, both less than 2 weeks away. Check back in a few weeks for two more spectacular performances!
