In Society

* In the middle of last month, the "Eagles Club" held the opening party of its permanent art exhibition, which the club has continued to mount for three years now, to encourage artists of every kind, professionals and amateurs alike, its constant purpose being to invigorate society with the various branches of culture that are of value and importance to the community — art among them.

The opening party was held under the patronage of the First Lady of Lebanon, Mrs. Zalfa Chamoun, and was attended by a number of Lebanon's distinguished elite, who appreciate art and value the efforts exerted by the members of the Eagles Club to foster it and raise its standing. Mrs. Chamoun donated five hundred Lebanese lira to the club and expressed her utmost admiration for the way the paintings were arranged, nor was she sparing with a few sincere observations, which those in charge considered a gracious gesture showing the First Lady's interest in art and in its people.

* The activity of the Lebanese woman these days is directed toward giving "Christmas" its due share of care and attention. There are seasonal responsibilities a woman cannot neglect — preparing her house, setting up trees in its corners and adorning them with colors and lights, and creating a joyous family atmosphere... And there is the visiting of needy families, the lifting of their spirits, and drawing near to them with giving and with love...

The Lebanese schools are busy in these days celebrating the memory of the Nativity, reviving in the souls of the young the lofty idea it symbolizes.

Among the most splendid of these parties was the one held by the English Girls' School under the patronage of the First Lady of Lebanon, Mrs. Zalfa Chamoun. Miss Far of the American School for Girls took part in playing the magnificent Christmas melodies, and the program was conducted by Ustad Sami Salibi. The school choir joined in singing the Christmas carols together with a choir from [...] the Brummana school. The First Lady showed great sympathy, especially after it was announced that the proceeds of the party would be set aside to assist the "School for the Blind"... She herself read "the Christmas Story," and volunteered to collect donations from the people of charity and benevolence; what she collected herself came to 2,100 Lebanese lira, and the total of all the donations to 3,530 lira. She also volunteered to make it one of her tasks in the future to care for these blind, and to turn the darkness in their eyes into light and peace in their hearts.

* The Lebanese Women's Union is still continuing its meetings with the Women's Solidarity to draw up the constitution of the organization that will unite the two of them and make of all the women of Lebanon a single bloc working within a single framework and according to a single plan. The committee has not yet reached a decisive result.

* During the past month, Mr. Adel Mikhail Azzam and his charming bride, Miss Julietta Khoury Leki, visited Lebanon to spend their honeymoon — they are among the greatest notables of the Lebanese colony in Brazil. The bridegroom is one of its prominent merchants and among the owners of the largest cotton mills, and the bride's father too is one of the greatest merchants of the Mahjar and a former mayor of the city of Campinas, the third town of the state of São Paulo.

The two honored guests stayed at the Saint George Hotel, and during their sojourn in Lebanon they traveled through the regions of the mother homeland, coming to know the aspects of its charm and its natural beauty, and they were the object of warm welcome from their family and their many friends.

The magazine "The Woman's Voice" extends its warmest congratulations to the two gracious newlyweds, and wishes them a second return to Lebanon, extending and lasting as long as God wills...

* On Thursday afternoon, December 18, the Children's Welfare Society held a family tea party in honor of the students of Beirut College for Women and the students of the American University of Beirut, for their assistance in collecting financial donations for the society's fund. After Miss Intisar Tabash gave a speech in which she recalled the purpose of the party, Mrs. Hajjal, secretary of the society, spoke after her and thanked the students for their noble work, in which they had collected the sum of L.L. 1,700.

★ The women's committee of the Social Cell began its working life by inviting a select group of the ladies of Beirut to a meeting it held at the Cell's club in Mazraa. At it, Ustad Abdullah al-Mashnouq, president of the Cell, spoke, explaining its works and its aims in cooperating with woman; then after him Mrs. Emily Fares Ibrahim gave a speech on what woman must undertake, and Ustad Hasan Qublan closed the meeting by speaking on the religious law and woman. The mistress of ceremonies was Miss In'am al-Saghir.

★ Last month the elections of members of the municipal councils took place in all parts of Lebanon without the Lebanese woman having any opinion or voice in them, because Legislative Decree No. 6, which gave the educated woman the full right to vote, had not yet completed its legal term so as to come into effect.

It appears that the highest authorities considered this legal measure unjust toward the Lebanese woman, and so there have lately circulated rumors from trustworthy sources to the effect that a republican decree will be issued appointing a few ladies to municipal seats.

As for the names repeated by the newspapers, they are: Miss Ibtihaj Kaddoura, and Mesdames Laure Tabet, Evelyne Bustros, Ellen Rihan, and Najla Saab.

★ Last month there appeared, from Dar al-Ma'arif in Beirut, the book "Samir at the Grape Harvest," the fifth installment of the series "The Child's Library" by Mrs. Edvick Jureidini Shayboub.

In brief, the book "Samir at the Grape Harvest" is the tale of a day lived by little Samir in the grape vineyards of the mountain, where he learns of the many benefits of grapes, and of the pleasures, surprises, and happy experiences that accompany harvest time.

The book is adorned with large colored pictures from the brush of the artist Salwa Salah Mishalani, and its language is a simplified classical Arabic suited to the level of children in the kindergarten years and the primary grades.

Mrs. Shayboub has begun work on writing the sixth installment, "Layla and the Policeman," and her series "The Child's Library" is meeting with great success among children, since its material is drawn from their own environment and its language is close to their understanding and their tastes.