June 1st – Children’s Day
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Children’s Day, June 1st, has become one of the most special celebrations of the year. It seems as though the entire city has the atmosphere where everyone is included in the celebration; even the flowers and toys joined the joyful voices of the children.
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The Central children’s Office, the Coordination Office of the Nursery Schools in Tirana, and other cities around the country, celebrated with all the children who participate in church activities. Picnics and visits to several tourist attractions were organized. |
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It is a tradition to celebrate Children’s Day in the nursery schools of the Orthodox Church. The teaching staff of each nursery school organized such activities, as concerts or exhibitions with children’s drawings and assorted crafts in the nurseries of each church. Parents, representatives of the clergy and other important personalities were invited in the activities. |
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A special artistic program was prepared by the staff. The children sang songs, recited poetry and presented short dramas, such as, “The Bee and the Pigeon”, “Three Butterflies”, etc. These activities are part of their education and demonstrate the care and attention given them by their teachers and care-givers.
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On May 31st the children of the orphanage “The Children’s Home of Hope”, at St. Vlash Monastery organized a festive concert in their beautiful home, a gift from Archbishop Anastasios. They invited many dignitaries such as deputies, representatives from Mary of Durres, their directors and the teachers from their schools. |
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On June 1st, after liturgy at St. Vlash church, the children organized a picnic at the farm of the Monastery, where they saw the farmers taking care of the plants, the animals and the bees. They learned that everything good needs hard work and loving care. |
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Teacher Polikseni, the director of the orphanage, showed the children the good productions of the farmer. After that, they visited the wildlife sanctuary of Rrushkull. There are a lot of wild animals, there such as bears, tigers, camels, mallards, etc. The children thoroughly enjoyed the natural beauty of the sanctuary. They spent the afternoon at the shore of the Adriatic Sea. The next day, the children expressed their joy to the students at the Theological Academy “The Resurrection of Christ”, St. Vlash near Durrës. |
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The Central Children’s Office organized activities such as concerts and a picnic on mountain Dajti with the Roma children and different groups of children from the suburbs and different neighborhoods of Tirana. This beautiful day taught us all that we need more joy and spiritual serenity, which only children can give us. They are the most important part of our life and we feel a great deal of love toward them.
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