Thirteen days after the Western Christmas, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated its Christmas, in accordance with the old Julian calendar. It is a day of both solemn ritual and joyous celebration.It has become traditional for the President of Malta to host the Russian community in Malta and their Maltese friends and collaborators to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas festivity in the Russian Chapel at San Anton. It is in the spirit of friendship and solidarity that Her Excellency the President of Malta has conceded, through her courtesy, that this celebration be held at this palace by a concert which, this year, was organised on 9 January. Present for the occasion were many distinguished guests including ambassadors and Mr Oleg Beglov, director of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture who started the evening with a short speech where he thanked the President for hosting the event and talked about the importance of religion that bring people together. He asked the audience to appreciate the embellishments that were done last year on the Russian Chapel with the participation of the Russian Embassy and the Russian Centre for Science and Culture created by the famous Russian artist Nikolai Mukhin; thus confirming the religious and historical connections between the two countries.Albert Storace, who compered the event, introduced the choir Logos consisting of six members, under the direction of Alexey Pokrovsky. The group specialises in the interpretation of Russian Orthodox religious chants and old Russian folksongs and is known in Russia for their wide repertoire and enjoyment that they bring to their audience.This artistic part of the evening was closed by a speech by the President of Malta where she conveyed her good wishes to the community. After, Her Excellency proceeded to inaugurate an exhibition of Russian crafts and the guests were invited to proceed to the upper chambers of the Palace where refreshments were served.