Christmas Parties in Beirut

Christmas in Beirut has a splendor beyond compare. Parties are held in most of the schools, and the little ones are urged to do good works and give presents to other, poorer children. Musical and traditional celebrations are held as well, presided over by decorated and lighted trees.

• Among the most notable of these celebrations was the one to which Mr. Salvador Arnita, head of the music department at the American University of Beirut, issued invitations, on Sunday, December 15 last, in the Assembly Hall. There his mixed choir played and sang "Handel's Christmas Anthem," and those present joined in some of the Christmas carols, which made an impression at once solemn and joyous.

• The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), as is its custom, presented a number of Christmas parties organized by its schools and its bodies — such as the vocational school, the quilting workers, and the women employees — and crowned them on December 20 with the Christmas party for all its members, each member bringing with her a gift for a small child... The program included a talk by Dr. Anis Frayha on the subject: "Christmas Is Gladness and Joy," while Mr. Afif Boulos and his choir provided the music and the carols.