Students, staff and teachers of the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius marked Lithuanian Independence Day February 16 with a full day of events.

The program included song and dance in the late morning and afternoon Friday to celebrate the day in 1918 102 years ago when the modern state of Lithuania was born. Pupils performed Lithuanian folk dancing and sang the national anthem.

Acting principal Ruth Reches said: “Children of different nationalities attend our gymnasium and one of our aims is to teach them citizenship, and to teach both the children and young people dates and holidays important to both Jewish and Lithuanian families. The day of the restoration of Lithuanian statehood celebrated on February 16 is very important to all of us, to our freedom and self-expression, and we, the entire school community, celebrated this independence day enthusiastically and ethnically.”

The day began with both the ushering in of a special Sabbath celebration dedicated to Lithuanian independence and the singing of the Lithuanian national anthem. Later the Dagaja Lithuanian folk dance ensemble from the Minties gymnasium in Vilnius offered dance lessons and children and parents joined in.

“Community is one of our gymnasium’s keystone values, so we are quite pleased teachers and students were so eagerly involved in organizing the holiday, and that parents came to celebrate,” Ruth Reches said.

Children in first grade also celebrated February 16.