On January 11, the Sunday after Nativity, the parish school of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY held its annual Nativity Yolka. After the solemn greeting of Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York with bread and salt and an opening prayer, parish rector and school director Archpriest Elias Gorsky delivered a welcome address to all, greeting all with the feast of the Nativity, and thanking everyone for their support.

In his greeting, His Eminence greeted all with the feast of Christ’s Nativity, noting that the holiday continues, and underlined the commemoration of the day: the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt, and how they kept God central in their struggles. He said that as parents, we need to allow Christ into our lives to help us raise our children appropriately, to show them the right examples to our children. Christ and the Church must not only be in our lives but be central to it, so that He may always be in our lives and world. The Metropolitan thanked the clergy, staff and all the parents of the school for their efforts in keeping the culture and faith alive in all the children’s lives.

Virtually all of the school’s students, ages 4-17, took part in the musical play based on "Morozko" (Father Frost), an old Russian fable. Children in fairytale costumes enthusiastically performed on stage, sang and danced, and all learned from the morality tale the story represented: a kind, mistreated stepdaughter sent into a freezing forest by her cruel stepmother, where she is found by the spirit of winter, Morozko, who rewards her polite resilience with riches; her jealous stepsister is sent to the same spot, but her rudeness results in her now taking the place of her stepsister, forced to work menial tasks and learning to become a better person.

After the play, the team of costume and scene directors, producers and dance instructors were thanked for their tireless efforts. A festive potluck was served to all and the children continued their singing in a circle around a massive live Christmas tree, singing carols in anticipation of the arrival of Santa (Grandfather Frost) and the Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), who joyously rode into the parish hall on their painted sleigh with a bag full of presents for all of the children.

Much effort, spirit, and love from the parents, parishioners, and sisterhood went into this holiday for the children and adult teachers of the parish school, and the event was a great success. Children and grownups alike exited the hall onto the frosty street, taking home with them a festive mood and the feeling of the Christmas story.

Background on Nyack’s Russian School: The parish school at Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY is the oldest parish school on the East Coast, founded over 70 years ago by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy, the parish’s longtime rector and author of The Law of God, a textbook renowned not only around America, but now around the world, as well. The parish school’s students use the book to this very day. There are currently 70 students enrolled in the school, ages 4-17, instructed by 24 teachers, seven of whom are graduates of the school from various years. Classes are held on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. All subjects are taught in Russian: the Law of God, Russian Language, Reading, Russian Literature, Russian History, Singing, and Geography. All of the teachers at the school are volunteers. Every year, in addition to the Nativity Yolka, the parish holds a Children’s Bliny with a costume contest on a given theme, baking of "lark buns" for the feast of the 40 Martyrs, school-wide confession during Great Lent, a poetry contest, concert, and the "Young Talents" exhibition, and a school picnic. This year, the school celebrates its 75th Anniversary, with a planned event at the end of the school year, May 16th, which will be led by His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas.